My famous Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

I love these cookies, my clients love these cookies, my friends love these cookies, you'll love these cookies. I don't have a sweet tooth but these hit the spot if you do, there soft and warm and make a great gift to say thanks to someone you care about. These can be made with chocolate chips or raisins, you decide. Enjoy

-Moist Oatmeal Cookies-

3/4 c. canola oil

2/3 c. agave nectar

1/4 c. soy milk

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

4 T. flax meal

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 c. oatmeal

1 c. large chocolate chips or raisins (if using raisins I toss them with cinnamon and nutmeg)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Cream together the canola oil, agave, soy milk, egg and vanilla with a whisk until mixed and fluffy.

3. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and add a little at a time to the creamed mixture whisking lightly to mix together.

4. Stir in oatmeal and flax meal until well blended and then fold in the chocolate chips or raisins.

5. I use a small ice cream scoop to scoop batter onto lined (parchment paper) cookie sheets.

6. Bake for 10 minutes and then let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling rack until completely cool. Store in airtight container, or wrap up as a gift. Enjoy

Happy Halloween- Apple Cider/Pumpkin Seeds

I know it is a little late for Halloween recipes but these are fun through the fall and into the winter. These two recipes are the request of my sweetie, we always have a Halloween party with our friends that have kids but since the kids were questionably sick we canceled last minute and partied with ourselves. But of course my sweet Bill has to have his 'treats'. I hope you enjoy these as much as he does.

-Apple Cider-

6 c. apple juice

1/4 c. maple syrup or agave nectar

2 cinnamon sticks

6-8 whole cloves

2 oranges, sliced in rounds

2 1/4 c. pineapple juice

1. I place all these ingredients in a large pot or a crock pot, turn on low and let simmer until warmed through.

2. Ladle into mugs and ENJOY!

-Pumpkin Seeds-

1 1/2 T. melted butter or olive oil

2 c. raw whole pumpkin seeds

2 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. garlic salt

1/4 t. cumin

1/4 t. paprika, chili powder

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 275 F.

2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly and place on a lined (parchment paper) cookie sheet.

3. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Cool and place in a bowl to share. Enjoy

Keeping it REAL and Simple- Homemade Marinara Sauce

So the last time I checked in was weeks ago, and I mentioned that I was in a food funk. Nothing was inspiring me nor was I even wanting to eat, my taste buds were on hiatus. Part of this was due to the Farmer's Market coming to a close as well as the weather here in Salt Lake won't make up it's mind if it wants to be cold or warm. I'm certainly not complaining about the sunshine it's just that it is throwing my wants and cravings for a bit of a loop! So I took action and I completely cleaned the kitchen and fridge from top to bottom in hopes that cleaning out my creative space would make room for the energy to flow. Is it working? Who knows only time will tell, but there's always in the meantime. As for the meantime, I vowed to keep it simple, and get real about this present moment. All of us go through stagnic times, it's like riding a wave - it goes up and it goes down. No worries just go with the flow, do what you can, andthe rest will catch up.

Here's a simple Marinara Sauce I refer to often (Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis) it's sweet an delicious and very versatile.

- Marinara Sauce-

1/4 c. olive oil, or enough to cover the bottom of the pot

2 small onions or 1 large, chopped

2-4 cloves garlic, chopped

4-6 stalks celery, chopped (I like the leafy stalks)

2-4 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 jars (I use my canned tomatoes) or cans (32oz)

2 fresh bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add onions and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the carrots and celery and season with salt and pepper, saute until soft, another 10 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer until sauce thickens about an hour. Let cool and I like to puree mine in the blender, taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Elana's Pantry- Soothing Chai

The holistic nutrition school I'm attending (Bauman College) sends out newsletters to all there students on a regular basis, and this last on was filled with great tips and recipe for the up coming cold season. One of the mentions was the food blog Elana's Pantry which is a gluten free blog, I took some time to check our her blog and loved it, I'm not gluten intolerant but I have friends that are and I want to be equipped to help them on there healthy food journey's. So these next two recipes came from that blog and if you have time you should check it out for yourself.

-Soothing Chai

6 c. water
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
1 inch ginger, peeled
8 cardamon pods
6 blk peppercorns
1 peppermint tea bag

1. Combine all the ingredients in a pot and place on the stove over medium heat.
2. Bring to a boil, turn down and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Strain the tea mixture into 4 mugs, (or in our case 2 large mugs).
4. Serve hot with agave nectar, honey and almond or soy milk. To your taste.

This is warm and soothing, I made it last Sunday morning when it was cold and rainy. It totally hit the spot and made the house smell wonderful. I can't wait to make it again.

-Pumpkin Pie Muffins

1 1/2 blanched almond flour (I couldn't find any so I used soy flour which is gluten free, there are lots of gluten free flours on the market you just have to look)
1/4 t. celtic salt (it is a great salt with lots of occurring minerals, if you haven't tried this it's much healthier than that crappy table salt, get some! Sorry mom about the word crap!)
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground ginger
1 pinch cloves
2 T. grapeseed oil
1/2 c. agave nectar
2 lrg eggs
1 c. fresh baked pumpkin, or winter squash well packed (I used garnet yams)

Preheat oven to 350
1. In large bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. (I like to sift my dry ingredients)
2. In a mixer puree oil, agave, eggs, and pumpkin until smooth.
3. Stir wet ingredients into dry mixture, (I do a little at a time, mix well and then add more until all is mixed together).
4. Place paper liners into muffin pans.
5. Scoop batter into liners, (I got 10 muffins).
6. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes
7. Cool for 2-3 hours and then serve.

These are awesome, and I shared them with friends. I topped mine with a cream cheese frosting, I just mixed organic cream cheese, vanilla extract, and organic powdered sugar just to taste. Who wouldn't love these this time of year. Make a batch, Enjoy!

Food Dillema- Mousse au Chocolat

Okay, Okay I know this will sound funny but I'm kind of sick of food. What? I know it sounds weird but really now that the farmers market is over I have to rethink our menus for the season to come. I've relied on the farmer's market to dictate what we eat all summer. Now what? And on top of it I'm sick of our usual standbys, our protein shake, my green drink, breakfast burritos, the yummy hot cereal (shh don't tell Billy, he loves making this for us on the weekend) what's a foodie/nutritionist to do? And on top of that I've have had a weird sweet tooth lately which on a normal basis only happens once a month, if you catch my drift. So I'll share the treats I've been working on for the last two weeks and I hope you find one you like, and hopefully I'll get back on track in the healthy food department.

This first recipe comes from that great cookbook Sweet Basil, Garlic, Tomatoes, and Chives (Shaw 1992). I found this cookbook on my awesome road trip with Billy in Manzanita, Oregon.

-Mousse au Chocolat

6 ounces chocolate, chopped into bits ( I used 3oz dark chocolate with deep forest mint, and 3oz smooth milk chocolate, yummy!)
1/4 c. brewed espresso or strong black coffee
4 eggs, seperated
1 T. unsalted butter
1/2 t. vanilla extract
3 T. sugar

1. Heat together the chocolate and coffee in a medium saucepan, (I used a vintage double boiler that my mom gave me just to insure I didn't burn the mixture). Stir until the mixture has melted. Simmer gently until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat and beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Stir to blend well. Beat in the butter and vanilla. Set aside until tepid.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whip the egg whites to form stiff peaks. Sprinkle in the sugar and whip another 30 seconds until the egg whites are glossy. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate. Pour into 4 individual ramekins or wineglasses. Chill for at least 4 hours. Makes 4 servings, Enjoy!

We loved this recipe, I would suggest sharing one with you sweetie, they are very rich.
P.S. use the best chocolate you can find the higher the cocoa content the better for you, REAL chocolate is high in antioxidants.

Goodbye Farmers Market :(, See you next year.

I have to say my last visit to Saturday's Farmer's Market is bitter sweet. It takes a lot of discipline on my part to get up early, get my farmers market bags packed and get down to the park by 8 or 8:30 to navigate my way through the crowds of people to find the freshest sweetest morsels I can find to feed us for the week to come. The other side of that coin is that all good things come to an end or maybe we can call it a hibernation of sorts, and I look forward to pulling the covers up over mine and my husbands heads and snuggle our Saturday mornings away. The only thing I can say for sure is that we are all so lucky that those farmers show up every Saturday to share the fruits of their labor. For anyone who has tried to grow there own, and I was one of those people this summer it truly is a labor of love. Going to the farmer's market really puts a face to your food. I will miss those friendly faces and the fruits of their HARD labor. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. See you next year, or if I'm lucky see you in the neighborhood.

Greek Salad

Well for those of you who don't know, I'm Italian, and there's this great line from a book called "Animal Vegetable Miracle" where the author is talking about her husband's Italian heritage and she says "It's my observation that when Italian genes are present, all others take cover." That would be my observation as well, unless ofcourse you meet a Greek. Now that my Mom dates a big Greek man, Mike, I joke that we have all become a little Greek. I'm sure all of you have someone like this in your life, and if not, you'd better get one because it's a whole lot of food and love. So this recipe comes from the newest member of our family, Mike. Thanks for all the food and love, you fit right in and then some. My poor quiet husband had know idea what he was in for when he married me, first the Italian crazyiness and food and now the Greek fun and fare, but he's loving every minute of it, and the food isn't too bad either.

-Greek Salad-

16 oz baby spinach
1 lb cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 large onion, thinly sliced (I use purple onion, Mike likes white onion)
1/4 lb good feta, cut into bite size pieces (I get mine at the farmer's market from Rockhill Creamery, it's called Desert Red and the flavor is salty and rich.)
pepper to taste
(I don't use salt because the feta is so salty, it doesn't really need more.)

1. I layer all of the ingredients in a huge bowl staring with the spinach, then the tomatoes, onion, and feta sprinkle some pepper and then layer one more time starting with the spinach and so on.
2. I like to dress each serving individually but you can certainly dress the whole salad when ready to serve.

-Dressing-

Here's the thing, the dressing is a mixture of balsamic vinegar and homemade ranch from Mike's restaurant, The International Pantry. We just mix the two according to taste, so if you can't get your hands on Mike's ranch use you favorite and mix with the balsamic for this truly original salad delight. ENJOY!

*Spinach historically was regarded as a plant with remarkable abilities to restore energy, increase vitality, and improve the quality of the blood. Spinach contains twice as much iron as most other greens. Spinach is also one of the most alkaline-producing foods making it useful in helping regulate body pH. It is also one of the richest dietary sources of lutein making it an especially important food for promoting healthy eyesight and preventing muscular degeneration and cataracts. Spinach, like other chlorophyll and carotene containing vegetables, is a strong protector against cancer. Researchers have identified at least thirteen different flavonoid compounds in spinach that function as antioxidants and as anticancer agents.