December | 2013 | My Foodie Call | Page 2

Monthly Archives: December 2013
- Healthy Holiday Ice Cream Sandwiches
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Dec 15th
  Healthy-er Holiday Ice Cream Sandwiches
  
  What makes these babies healthy-ER???
  
  Whole wheat pastry flour. Love this stuff.
  
  What makes these babies “holiday”?
  
  Really it’s just the crushed peppermint. These ice cream sandwiches can be made anytime, I just wanted to holiday it up a bit so I crushed some mints and called it a day.
  
  Crushed peppermints in the ice cream. Holiday-ish right?
  
  For a closer look scroll down past the recipe for the pictorial.
  
  Healthy Holiday Ice Cream Sandwiches
  
  Ingredients:
  
  For the cakes:
  - 1 cup almond milk
  - 1 T. apple cider vinegar
  - 1 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  - 2/3 cup cocoa powder
  - 1 t. baking soda
  - 1/2 t. baking powder
  - 1/4 t. salt
  - 1/3 cup Earth Balance vegan butter
  - 1 cup sugar
  - 3 eggs (or try making flax eggs: 3 tablespoon flax mixed with 9 tablespoons water. Let set for 30+ minutes in the fridge)
  The ice cream center:
  - 1- 32oz tub Vanilla Ice Cream of choice (I used Trader Joe’s Soy Vanilla Ice Cream, but you could use any vanilla: light, frozen yogurt…what ever you like)
  - 15-18 peppermint candies, crushed in the food processor
  Directions:
  
  For the cakes:
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Easy clean up!
  2. In a small bowl, whisk almond milk and apple cider vinegar.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  4. In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the Earth Balance and sugar until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
  5. Add the egg and beat until the mixture is creamy and well combined, another minute.
  6. Add the flour mixture next (in several batches,) alternating with the almond milk mixture, until all ingredients have been added and the mixture is smooth.
  7. Using a large spoon, drop the batter onto the prepared sheets, creating 2-3 inch rounds.
  8. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cakes to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before filling.
  For the ice cream center:
  1. In a large bowl, scoop all of the ice cream out of the container and let thaw a bit.
  2. Stir in crushed peppermint candies.
  To assemble:
  1. Turn half of the cooled cakes upside-down (flat side up), and spread a generous amount of ice cream. Top with the other cakes (flat side down).
  2. Eat immediately or wrap and freeze.
  A closer look.
  
  Here is your almond milk and ACV mixture.
  
  And your dry ingredients…
  
  Vegan butter/sugar
  
  Mix it all….Couldn’t you just lick this batter?
  
  Your cakes.
  
  Add your mints to your processor.
  
  Crush ’em.
  
  Add your peppermints to your softened ice cream.
  
  Pile it on your cake.
  
  Top it and devour.
  
  Or freeze for later.
  
  Although there wasn’t much of a “later” for us.
  Posted in Desserts | Tagged dessert, healthy, holiday, ice cream, sandwich, whole wheat pastry flour
- Blueberry Steel Cut Oats
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Dec 14th
  Steel cut oats with brown sugar and blueberries.
  
  Does your family all prefer different things for breakfast? This family is no different from yours. Some mornings the kids are freaking over eggs, Cheerios are the arch-enemy, or calling out my burnt toast. Nobody is ever happy or on the same page.
  
  However, this breakfast is great, gets no complaints and has a regular spot in the breakfast rotation.
  
  Must be doing something right on this one.
  
  If you are not a big fan of oatmeal’s texture, steel-cut oats may be the kind to change your mind. Although steel-cut oats take a bit longer to cook, they are chewier than regular oatmeal which I like. No slop factor on this breakfast. And although I mention that they take a bit longer than regular oats, really they just simmer on low and you stir every so often. Nothing to stress on. Big deal.
  
  Give this breakfast recipe a try and let me know what you think.
  
  Grab your stuff….35 minutes later…
  
  Breakfast is served.
  
  Easy Blueberry Steel Cut Oats
  
  Ingredients:
  - 1 cup steel-cut oats
  - 4 cups water (OR…a lot of times I will use a can of coconut milk to replace some of the water. Yup, that much creamier. )
  - 1 cup frozen blueberries
  - 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  Directions:
  1. Bring water to a boil (or milk/water mixture)
  2. Add steel-cut oats
  3. Boil for 4-5 minutes until they thicken a bit.
  4. Reduce heat to slow and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring periodically.
  5. Add frozen blueberries. Stir for a minute or so, keeping on low heat.
  6. Add brown sugar. Stir.
  7. Serve.
  ***Optional add-ins: Peanut butter, Chia seeds, Chopped walnuts, gogi berries, raisins***
  Posted in Breakfast | Tagged blueberries, oatmeal
- Small changes…Why I always use grapeseed and coconut oil in my recipes.
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Dec 13th
  
  You might have noticed that pretty much all of my cooked recipes use either grapeseed oil or coconut oil. Why??
  
  So many oils, what to do…
  
  Although there are some pretty great oils out there, I use these two oils in my kitchen specifically for cooking because they have a high smoke point.
  
  What is a smoke point??
  
  Basically its the point at which the oil starts to break down its fatty acid chains.
  
  And starts to smoke…
  
  and the nutritional benefits are null and void….Might as well go grab some fries. 🙂
  
  and the taste goes kaput.
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point
  
  FYI…A couple of smoke point temperatures.
  
  Smoke point: 420 degrees
  
  I use grapeseed oil quite a bit for stir frying, and baking. It rocks because it is always liquid and can blend seamlessly into recipes.
  
  Smoke Point: 420 degrees
  
  Coconut oil is great too. We all know that. Problem is that coconut oil is sometimes hard when it is at cooler temperatures. Or it might be too liquid-y when you want it semi-solid. You sometimes have to do a tiny bit of prep to work with it. Sometimes.
  
  That said, coconut oil is still pretty dang good though…And you can slather your body in it too and feel like you are on tropical island instead if your nasty kitchen.
  
  Smoke Point: 375 degrees
  
  Olive oil, yes its great, but only for use in dressings or as a dipping oil for breads. If you must cook with it, use it at the tail end of your cooking.
  
  Make sense???
  
  Posted in Random stuff, Small changes
- A Super Easy Winter Salad…with Pears and Candied Walnuts
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Dec 12th
  We all love fruit in salad.
  
  Pears are one of those things that usually show up in salads around this time of year.
  
  A winter or holiday thing, right?
  
  Thought it was fitting that I add a post with a pear salad. Great for your holiday gathering. Or for whenever.
  
  A Super Easy Winter Salad
  
  …with Pears and Candied Walnuts.
  
  Sweet.
  
  Horrible lighting. Apologies. Salad still rocked though. Mr. Foodie Call did a few approving grunts while he ate this.
  
  My usual “pictorial” play-by-play of the recipe.
  
  Toast and “candy up” those walnuts.
  
  Stir up your dressing.
  
  Pick your pears.
  
  Chop ’em.
  
  Grab 2 bags of spring mix. Organic of course.
  
  Pour your dressing on your goods.
  
  Sprinkle with walnuts.
  
  Winter Salad with Pears and Candied Walnuts
  
  The Walnuts:
  - 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
  - 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
  - 2 teaspoons sugar
  The Dressing:
  - 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
  - 2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
  - 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
  - 2 tsp honey mustard
  - salt and pepper to taste
  The Salad:
  - 2- 5 oz bags of mixed greens
  - 2 pears, cored and chopped
  Directions:
  
  1. For the Walnuts: Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add nuts and sugar. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
  
  2. For the Dressing: Whisk together all ingredients
  
  3. For the Salad: Combine greens and pears in a bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss. Sprinkle with nuts.
  
  If anything, make this salad so that you can try this dressing. Pomegranate juice dressing? Super tasty and super healthy.
  Posted in Salads, Soups, and Sides | Tagged fruit, salad, walnuts
- Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles with Veggies
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Dec 11th
  Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles with Veggies
  
  Here is a recent family meal that was a hit. And trust me. Many are not.
  
  And boy do those kids let me know.
  
  I always hear, “Are you going to blog about this??”
  
  …followed by how either I should or shouldn’t.
  
  Thanks, guys.
  
  Example you ask? Well, I tried to make “Oatmeal hot chocolate pancakes” a few weeks ago.
  
  Epic fail.
  
  The pancakes tasted good, but the texture was just wrong and weird and just WRONG.
  
  However, this meal was not.
  
  What I personally liked the best about this dish was the toasted sesame seeds. LOVE THEM. Also having a nice tahini sauce for a change was good. I have done the peanut butter sauce/noodle thing several times and it’s good and all, but been there done that. Tahini for today.
  
  Do you have tahini? Or even know what it is? It’s just sesame seeds ground up into a paste. Give it a shot. Buy it. Try it. Look for it near the peanut butter/almond butter section of the “healthy” section of your grocery store.
  
  As always, here is a closer look at how this meal goes down.
  
  When I am pressed for time, I use my “cheater bags”.
  
  Pre-cut bags. Yes, easy. Yes, lazy.
  
  Fine chop your broccoli either by hand or get even lazier and use the pulse button on your food processor.
  
  Add green onion…
  
  Cook your spaghetti, carrot…
  
  and broccoli concoction…
  
  Toast your sesame seeds…
  
  Mix your sauce, seeds, noodles and veggies. Done.
  
  Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles with Veggies
  
  Ingredients:
  
  The Sauce
  - 2 tablespoons tahini (You could use peanut butter here and I am sure it would still be good, but will not be the same. Try for the tahini!)
  - 2 tablespoons water
  - 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  - 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  - 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
  - 3 teaspoons honey
  - 1/2 teaspoon salt
  - 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
  - 2 garlic cloves, minced
  The Noodles
  - 8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
  - 1- 12oz package broccoli florets, fine chopped
  - 1- 10 oz package shredded carrots
  - 3/4 cup green onion, chopped
  - 4 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted at 350 degrees for 10 minutes total, (stirring after 5 minutes).
  - 1/4 teaspoon salt
  Directions:
  
  Sauce
  1. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir well with a whisk. (Note: if your tahini is a tiny bit hard, heat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to make it easier to whisk into the sauce.)
  Spaghetti and Veggie
  
  ***Spaghetti and veggies will all be cooked together, but vary on time.***
  1. To prepare spaghetti, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water for 8 minutes. DO NOT DRAIN.
  2. Add bag of carrots. Cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add fine-chopped broccoli. Cook for 1 minute.
  4. Drain pot of pasta and veggies. Place in a large bowl.
  5. Sprinkle with chopped green onion, sesame seeds and salt.
  6. Pour sauce evenly over the noodles and toss well.
  Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles and Veggies.
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged broccoli, tahini, whole wheat spaghetti
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