• 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or allspice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup light brown cane sugar
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 3 egg equivalent in Ener-G egg substitute
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup vegetable oil**

• 2 cups finely grated carrots
• 1 can (about 14 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup shredded coconut

• nuts and raisins optional

Faux Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 8 oz package of vegan cream cheese
• 1/3 cup vegan soy margarine (like Earth Balance), softened.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups vegan confectioners sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, spice, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer combine sugar and egg replacer until creamy.  Add vanilla, then add vegetable oil or applesauce.

Mix wet and dry ingredients together and add carrots, pineapple, and coconut.

Grease pan. Smooth batter into pan. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Be sure to let the cake adequately cool before frosting.

For a thicker cake, use a 9×9 glass pan. For a thinner cake with more servings, use a 13×9.  You can also make them in a cupcake pan or 2 loaf pans.

Faux Cream Cheese Frosting recipe:

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and margarine. Add vanilla, then add sugar.

This entire recipe tastes just like the real thing! It just made it last night and it is so delicious!

Makes: 9 servings, Preparation time: 20 minutes, Cooking time: 40 minutes

**Substitutions**

For the egg replacer – I used pineapple juice drained from the pineapple chunks instead of water.  I had it and I thought I’d give the cake an extra boost of flavor.

Again, I don’t use vegetable oil.  I subbed with applesauce as usual.

Since I had a young coconut in the fridge I used that instead of dried shredded coconut.  I just ran it through the shredder with the carrots.  I tried to run the pineapple chunks through as well, but that really didn’t work.  I ended up cutting up the pineapple chunks I had by hand instead.

I accidentally added 3 cups of carrots instead of the 2 called for – I mixed it up with another recipe.  It worked out pretty well though.

I also added 1 cup of chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries.

I don’t do soy-based cream cheese frosting.  Instead of that I used my trusty old standby Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting – wow, was it tasty!

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I am apparently in a baking mood today – zucchini bread and carrot cake back to back.  That or I’m just hungry   I found this recipe over at VegWeb.com where it was submitted by Tate.  I was looking at both this recipe and this one by Ina Garten so I’m sure that there are places other than just the extra cup of carrots that I merged them but I don’t recall them.

Just so you know, these muffins by no means need the frosting – and they are better for you without it – but what is a good tropical-inspired carrot cake without frosting?  I mean really.

So why did I pick a vegan recipe?  Well, I ran out of eggs but I have scads of egg replacer!  Shhh – don’t tell!

So yeah – that’s my version of this yummy cake!  And I would have to agree, next to the Oregon Farms boxed cake (now Sarah Lee), this is one of the best carrot cakes I have tried yet.  I’m still trying to duplicate that one though!  Yum…

Oh – and the kids LOVE it!

I recently came across a post outlining some of the benefits of honey when mixed with cinnamon.  I found this to be of great interest, as I have been consuming a bit more honey as of late due to it being the cold season.

Whenever I have a sore throat (or one of the girls does) I make a “tea” of the juice of one lemon, 1/2 cup honey and as much boiling water as I can fit into the teapot.  I will occasionally add some dried black currants, as they make it taste even better and give it a pretty pink color.

This post, however, outlines some other ways that honey is a great health food.  Combined with cinnamon powder and eaten daily seems to be a great cure for many different ailments.  This is good news!  Especially in these hard economic times.  Some examples are:

~ Make a paste of honey and cinnamon – eat it on your toast in the mornings to help with heart disease and lower your cholesterol.  I will be sharing this little tidbit with my husband!

~ Make a paste of honey and cinnamon and put it onto a pimple each night (washing it off in the morning) to extract the rot of the pimple.

~ 2 Tbsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp honey in a glass of lukewarm water will help remove infection from the bladder.

These are just a few of the great tips that are over at About Food 2 on the use of honey and cinnamon.  Check it out!

Yes, we seem to have created a tradition in our house that Friday is pizza and movie night. Not sure how it started, but it seems to be the norm these days.

While we do occasionally cop out and do the Papa Murphy’s thing (that spinach bacon and artichoke delight is so good!) we have also been known to have a “Make your own pizza” night pretty regularly.

Since I have been making sourdough a couple of times each week, I usually have a healthy amount of starter laying around wanting to get used. This comes in very handy around 4:30 on Friday night. Very handy indeed.

While browsing one evening I came across a recipe for sourdough pizza crust that is a definite winner.
It takes about an hour start to finish to have a 9″-12″ pizza each for 4 people. His directions are pretty complete, so I would duplicate it here, but I will add that you should make sure to poke the dough with a fork all over before baking it the first time to keep it from puffing up too much. I also like to place a pan under my pizza stone (at one edge) to put some ice cubes into so that the oven has some steam. Make sure you replace the ice cubes as they melt and evaporate.

Now that you have the dough, what do you top it with?

Let’s start with the sauce:

• 1 small can tomato paste
• 3 cloves garlic – minced
• finely chopped onion – about 1/8 cup
• 1 can of warm water
• ground oregano and basil

Saute the garlic and onion in a small saucepan and add the tomato paste and water. Add the crushed herbs and let it cook on low for a bt while you get the other topping ready.

The girls like cheese pizza – yep, nothin’ but cheese and sauce. Or pepperoni.

For those with a broader pallet, here are some thoughts:

• chicken, spinach, bacon & feta
• chicken, potato, rosemary
• tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella
• pepperoccini, tomatoes & herbs

These are just a few ideas that have come from our oven… tonight was blue potatoes, bacon, onion, chicken, spinach and feta.  Yum!

And no, I didn’t get a picture… it was just too good!  I’ll try to do better next time.

Keep in mind that since this crust is just flour, water, salt and oil, you can make a vegan pizza pretty easily.  Lots of veggies, a pesto sauce… too bad I’m full already, that sounds good too

So, next time pizza sounds good, remember that homemade is easy too!

I woke up this morning feeling less than healthy… not a good thing, considering I have to sing tomorrow! The head cold aside, I also had a very sore, scratchy throat and no voice.

What is a girl to do?

Make the concoction listed below, of course!

• 1/2 cup raw honey
• juice of 2 lemons – the real thing, not the bottled stuff
• handful black currants

Boil a pot of water. Put all ingredients into a 6 cup teapot and pour the boiling water over it. Stir to dissolve the honey and sugar.

Pour it into a cup and drink it as hot as you can stand it every couple of hours. If you don’t want the currants floating around in your cup, pour it through a strainer.

You could also add some peppermint leaves if you are feeling frisky.

This is a soothing, albeit sweet concoction that will help your throat feel better quickly.

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Some other things that can help soothe your sore throat are sliced ginger in a cup of boiling water, garlic steeped overnight in honey (remove the garlic in the morning and eat the honey), and inhaling steam with lemons and peppermint in it. Menthol is not that great… there are many natural alternatives that you can try! My personal favorite is the Baby’s Vapor Rub from The Natural Newborn – it works great, and smells good too!

**Disclaimer: This is not a replacement for going to your doctor, it is just a natural remedy to help ease symptoms. I am not responsible for your health if using this without talking with your doctor.**

Smoothies, yes, but green? Why, Jennifer, why?

Because they are good… and good for you! And I can’t think of a better way to camouflage some of the green leafy veggies that my kids don’t particularly *like* to eat.

The basics:

frozen fruit
yogurt
kefir
100% juice (I like kagome’s juices)
mixed baby greens – kale, swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage, greens (turnip, collard, etc)
cinnamon
honey
milk

These are the basic ingredients that I use almost every morning.

I pour about 1/3 cup of yogurt into the bottom of my blender. Add about 1-1/2 cups frozen fruit, toss in a handful of greens, pour around 1/3 cup of kefir over that. Add in some juice and milk to keep it from getting too thick. The kids like it when I add a bit of cinnamon or honey to give it a hint of sweetness, but I don’t if the fruit is perfectly ripe and sweet.

Blend, ice crush, whatever setting your blender has that will chop up the fruit and greens into a wonderfully smooth, tasty mixture.

Pour into cups, add a fun straw and watch your kids (and yourself!) slurp down a delicious treat that is oh, so very good for them!

We drink these for breakfast or a mid-morning snack, but they would also be a great dessert. Just don’t let your kids see you making them… or your husband, for that matter! It will be our little secret!

Why frozen fruit?  Because it makes it more like a milk shake, something that kids love.  It also makes it easier to get everything to blend up well.  We pick a lot of fruit throughout the Summer, and I try to freeze at least some of it to enjoy during the colder months… of which most are here in Washington!

I came across a dilemma today. I picked up a large green tomato at the CSA farm today, and I had no idea what to do with it. Yes, there are the traditional fried green tomatoes, but after the breakfast we had today, that just didn’t seem like the best idea. So, to google I went!

And what I found was amazing…

Over at Seeds Of Knowledge there was a post on green tomatoes, and they had the following recipe – and no, my picture doesn’t do it justice!

Green Tomatoes with Goat Cheese

Here’s an elegant side dish that puts all those extra green tomatoes you have to use. Greek style feta or French style chevres (both goat cheeses) work equally well here.
4 medium green tomatoes
a tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
1 cup crumbled goat cheese (feta or chevre)
4 teaspoons olive oil
salt and coarsely ground fresh ground black pepper

Serves 4

Cut tomatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat a shallow baking dish with oil. Place tomato slices, in a single, overlapping layer, in the bottom of the baking dish.

Sprinkle tomatoes with vinegar and scatter minced oregano over tomatoes. Top with crumbled goat cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

Broil 5-8 inches below a preheated broiler and broil until tomatoes are hot and cheese is just starting to brown, about 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

My Tweaks:
we served them up with some Turkish olive paste, and added some fresh basil in with the oregano (my oregano is spicy too… not greek!)

And as someone who doesn’t like tomatoes much, I have to admit that I ate almost HALF OF THE PAN!!!

And since we were having a Mediterranean appetizer/side dish, I needed to have something else to go with it. And I had lots of kale laying around. Lots. So, I made zuppa toscano. Oh yeah. Sausage, potatoes & leafy greens… yum!

Here is the recipe I found over at allrecipes.com and it is a good one!

INGREDIENTS
12 links spicy pork sausage, sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup diced onion
1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons chicken broth
4 cups water
2 potatoes, halved and sliced
2 cups sliced kale
1/3 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Place sausage links on a baking sheet and bake 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Slice into 1/2 inch slices.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent; add garlic and cook 1 minute.
Stir in broth, water and potatoes; simmer 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add sausage, kale and cream; simmer until heated through and serve.

My Tweaks
I added another cup of water, another potato, a bit more cream, 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes, and I used 1 small red onion & 1 small onion. And I used ground sausage instead of links… we just fried it in the pan. Yum!

We had a salad on the side, but I’m the only one who ate any… everyone else had lots of tomatoes & 2nds (or 4ths) on the soup.

Thank you google… you have saved another dinner!

I tried a new breakfast side dish today… and it met with mixed reviews. The adults liked it, the kids… didn’t. I think it was more a texture thing in their case. We had it with bacon, eggs and applesauce (and tea, of course!) and it was a very filling meal!

Oats are one of the best grains for us – and they help reduce cholesterol.  The humble oat kept the Scottish people healthy & strong for centuries, as it was the only grain that would grow in northern Scotland, but they are not often thought of these days. Try these for a new way to enjoy this humble grain.  Adding some cinnamon & sugar or dried fruit makes them more like cookies!

2 cups rolled oats
6 Tbsp. butter or coconut oil
1/4 cup flour (gluten free or rice flour works well too)
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. hot water (with more set aside for later use)

OPTIONAL
2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbsp. evaporated cane juice

Warm up your griddle on the stove to just above medium. I cooked the bacon on it before making the oatcakes, which greased it nicely for the first few.

Grind the oats into a gritty flour in a food processor. Combine the oats, flour and salt into a mixing bowl (and cinnamon & sugar if using), and using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix the butter into the flour mixture. I also added a tsp or so of bacon fat from the bacon I was cooking.

Add the hot water to the mixture to make a sticky dough – you may need to add a bit more than 2 Tbsp.

Using golf ball sized portions of dough, form flat cakes with your hands. Place them onto your warm, greased griddle and cook 3-5 minutes per side. You may have to re-grease your griddle with every batch. I used coconut oil, as it has a higher burn point than butter, but butter works well also.

The oatcakes should stay a little bit blonde, but the browned butter or bacon grease can add a nice flavor.

Serve warm with butter, honey, jam or applesauce. They are also good with cheese.

These could also make good biscuits for a fruit cobbler.

There are many schools of thought about how many snacks are OK to eat and how often to eat them. Snacking has long been thought to be a bad thing. If, like me, you disagree and feel that snacking is the best way to avoid overeating keep reading.  Whether you are trying to maintain their current weight, trying to lose weight, or eat healthier overall here are some tips and suggestions for snacking the healthy way.

When most think of snacking, things like French fries, candy bars, ice cream cones, or potato chips, come to mind. It’s no wonder the majority of people associate snacking with something negative. All of these “bad snacks” can add just as many, if not more, calories than a regular meal. Don’t despair, however. It is possible to snack without adding all the fat and calories.

Think of the examples named above. Instead of giving up their favorites, snack lovers need only change their snack choices to a better for you substitute. For instance, a bag of fast food fries can easily become a baked sweet or russet potato fries with fresh herbs or cinnamon sprinkled on top. Now, that sounds like a tasty snack and it’s healthier.

An alternative substitution for fries or chips is veggie sticks.  Toss a few into a bag in the morning – carrots, celery, zucchini and cucumber are all great!  If you must, use a little bit of ranch or italian dressing as a dip.  Or chop up some cucumbers and put them into a bowl with some rice vinegar, a dash of soy sauce and some chili sauce for a tasty asian treat.

As for that candy bar, it’s really the chocolate most are after when they grab their favorite one.  The nougat, peanut butter and caramel are good but don’t be fooled, it’s the chocolate craving that gets candy bar lovers. In place of those pound adding candy bars, make some granola bars. Use rolled oats, bran, crunchy clusters, and chocolate chips. Dark chocolate is supposed to be better for us, so try some dark chocolate pieces inside or drizzle a bit of dark chocolate on top. Anytime you need a snack, grab a granola bar instead of a candy bar.  Or have a small bag of almonds and chocolate chips open on your desk to nibble on throughout the day.  Note that I said a SMALL bag!

Another great snack option is a smoothie.  In a blender, combine frozen fruit, yogurt, fruit juice (I use odwalla, naked or kagome juices as they are more nutritious), and kefir or milk.  Add a dash of cinnamon and vanilla extract along with some golden flax seed meal for a nutritional and flavor boost.  You can even make a double batch in the morning and put half of it in a thermos for later.

For many die hard snack addicts, ice cream is a big one to overcome. If this sounds like you, have confidence in yourself and try something just as cool and sweet, but even better for you.  Whip up some smoothie mix and freeze it in a container for at least twenty-four hours. When that ice cream craving hits, scoop some smoothie into a bowl and top it with nuts and a dab of whipped cream.  Before you know it, you’ll be craving yummy fruit or veggie smoothies instead of that fattening ice cream.

Next, let’s talk about how often to snack.  The more times you eat, the more revved up your metabolism will be. However, it’s necessary to eat the right foods in order for this not to backfire.  Unfortunately, this is where many people go wrong. If you keep only the freshest and healthiest foods in your home, all of your choices will be good. So, as hard as it may be, curb that urge to load up on sweet, junk food on your next trip to the grocery store.

Ideally you should have 3 snacks a day; one during the middle of the morning, another mid-afternoon, and lastly, one after dinner. That’s three snacks to complement three meals. Also, remember that quantity matters when it comes to snacks, just like it does meal portions.  Snacks are not meant to be entire meals but they are supposed to be delicious or you won’t eat them. By not snacking at all you actually make yourself too hungry.  This leads to overeating at meal times.  Beyond that, you will opt for dining out more often if you feel starved because you haven’t munched on a few healthy snacks throughout the day.

Contrary to popular belief, snacking is good for you, but only if you make your treat choices healthy ones.  Keeping good for you snacks on hand will make snacking healthy even easier. So, snack away, but make them good snacks in order to reap the most benefits.