Year: 2013

Healthy Homemade Ketchup Recipe

Melissa King 70 Comments

Healthy Homemade Ketchup Recipe. Lately, I have been doing a lot of condiments, so you probably had seen this homemade ketchup recipe coming.

First we did the BBQ Sauce, then we did the Dairy Free Ranch and now homemade ketchup.  Everyone likes ketchup, but most people don’t make their own. The funny thing is, it is super simple to make a ketchup.

healthy homemade ketchup

If you have toddlers like me, you know that kids just eat gobs of ketchup if they are not monitored.  If my daughters had their way, they would eat it by itself.

This ketchup was so easy to make and contains just a small amount of sweetener.  Most commercial brands contain high fructose corn syrup.

The few store bought ketchup brands that I have tried without high fructose corn syrup left a lot to be desired.

This recipe makes about 1 cup and should keep in the fridge a few weeks.  I store mine in a glass jar.  You can also freeze it for longer storage!

To keep it vegan, just use maple syrup instead of honey.  Works great!

Healthy Homemade Ketchup

Homemade Ketchup

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Prep Time 10 min Serves 1 cup     adjust servings

Ingredients

  • 1 6 oz BPA free can or 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 1 T raw honey or maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large sauce pan, heat all the ingredients together on med until everything is well combined. Take a test taste.
  2. If you like a sweeter ketchup, add a tad more honey. That’s it.

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Almond Joy Granola Recipe

Melissa King 43 Comments

Almond Joy Granola.  I have been slightly obsessed with coconut lately if you haven’t noticed.  You need to try this Almond Joy Granola!   What’s not to love?  I was not always a coconut fan, but have grown to love it in so many ways.

I already have Almond Joy Energy Bites and Almond Joy Waffles, so why not create Almond Joy Granola.  I have combined my love for coconut, with my love for granola to make this very tasty little snack.  This almond joy granola is a must try!

 

almond joy granola

 

This is so good!  It may just be my new favorite.  I have to admit, though, this recipe was not going to be granola.  I was trying to do a baked oatmeal and when I went to pull them out of the muffin tins, they just fell apart.

But rather than toss it, I just threw it back in the oven for another 15 minutes and made it granola!  Glad I did too, because the coconut got toasty and sweet.  Yum!

We shot a short video for this recipe.   You can view it below.  For more videos, you can subscribe to my You Tube channel.

Almond Joy Granola

Almond Joy Granola

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 15 min Serves 2.5 cups     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl . Mix wet into another.
  3. Add wet to dry and mix until combined.
  4. Spread mixture onto a lined baking sheet .
  5. Bake in the oven for 17 minutes.
  6. Pull out and shake granola around and put back in the oven for another 15-17 minutes. Enjoy!

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Almond Joy Granola

Easy Crock Pot Tomato Sauce

Melissa King 153 Comments

Easy Crock Pot Tomato Sauce.  Tomato Sauce is a lot like ketchup and BBQ Sauce, in the fact that you can’t seem to find a store bought kind that doesn’t contain processed sugar.

So, I set out to create a super easy, crock pot tomato sauce that tastes great with no added sugar.  When we got our co-op basket this past week, I saw a package of tomatoes on the vine and I knew I was going to use them for sauce.

This crock pot tomato sauce recipe is almost as easy as my Homemade Vegetable Stock.

 

Easy Crock Pot Tomato Sauce

This sauce is so easy that you really just throw everything in the crock pot and walk away.  Plus, it makes a ton.  We freeze it for those busy days when you need to make dinner in a hurry.

You can pull it out in the morning and let it defrost on your counter top all day.

Easy Crock Pot Tomato Sauce

Easy Crock Pot Tomato Sauce

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Prep Time 3 hr

Ingredients

  • 12 vine ripened tomatoes peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 onion rough chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
  • 10 basil leaves
  • 2-3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Throw everything in the crock pot and cook on high for at least 3 hours.

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Recipe Notes

I like to cook it longer because the longer it cooks, the more developed the flavor gets. If the sauce seems thin to you, you can thicken it with a tablespoon of arrowroot. You can also uncover and let it reduce while cooking. This sauce would also make a great sauce for my Rustic Vegan Pizza . If you like a super smooth sauce, feel free to blend it with an immersion blender.

Dairy Free Ranch Dressing Recipe

Melissa King 112 Comments

Dairy Free Ranch Dressing you guys!! I have never met a soul that didn’t like ranch dressing. When we went vegan, my husband really missed ranch.

We wanted to make a dairy-free ranch dressing that would really curb his craving.  This dairy-free ranch recipe really hits the spot.

I don’t know about you, but it seems as though a lot of people have dairy sensitivity lately.  My husband and I are lactose intolerant and my younger daughter is allergic to dairy and soy.

Most of the non-dairy recipes I have seen online use tofu or veganaise as a base.  I was looking for a way to make a soy free ranch dressing recipe and it totally worked!  This is just as easy as the Homemade Peanut Butter and the Healthy Honey Mustard!

 

dairy free ranch dressing

This yummy dressing passed the ultimate kid test.  My 4 year old loved it!  So, now those of you with kiddos that are dairy sensitive can enjoy the taste of ranch.

I was actually amazed at how well this turned out.  I had my doubts in the beginning.  So here is the recipe.

If you like this, you may also want to check out my dairy free sour cream and my dairy free pesto sauce.

Dairy Free Ranch Dressing

Dairy Free Ranch Dressing

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Prep Time 10 min Serves 1.25 cups     adjust servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cashews (I used raw and unsalted)
  • 1/4 cup almond milk (If you like a super thick dressing, just omit the milk)
  • 1 clove garlic minced (I do this using a microplane )
  • 3 T chives finely chopped
  • 3 T parsley finely chopped
  • 3 tsp white wine vinegar
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Place the cashews in water and soak overnight in the fridge.
  2. Drain and rinse the cashews and throw them in the blender with just enough water to cover.
  3. Blend them for about 1-2 minutes.
  4. Now add the rest of the ingredients and blend on low for another minute.

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Recipe Notes

That’s it! This made about 1 1/4 cups and should keep for a few weeks in the fridge. I store mine in recycled glass jars.

High Protein Energy Bites (Vegan)

Melissa King 46 Comments

High Protein Energy Bites that are vegan, gluten free and grain free.  If you have ever made your own nut milk, you know that you are left with a pulp after that almonds have been milked.

I am always looking for ways to use it up.  I came up with some Grain Free Energy Bites in the past.  Here is another high protein energy bite that is also grain free.

 

High Protein Energy Bites

 

If you are looking to get more chia seeds in your diet, this would be one way to do it.  These little bites are low in sugar and packed with good protein and also fiber.

They should keep you full for a while.  These would be good before or after a workout.

Looking for more energy bite recipes?

High Protein Energy Bites

High Protein Energy Bites

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Prep Time 10 min Serves 10 balls     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, mix everything together until a dough starts to form. 
  2. Roll into balls carefully.  The dough doesn’t hold together very well when rolling but will firm back up in the fridge. 
  3. Chill in the fridge for about 1 hour to get them nice and firm.

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Recipe Notes

I got about 10 balls in my batch. They should last a couple weeks in the fridge.

PAM Exposed

Melissa King 62 Comments

Do you use PAM cooking spray? I used to all the time. I thought I was doing myself a favor, by using less oil and being healthy. Boy was I wrong.  Please note that this is the label on the baking PAM.  Their other products may have different ingredients.

pam exposed

Let’s see what is on the back.

pam exposed 1

Right off the bat, since this is a ConAgra product, it most likely contains GMOs.  ConAgra spent lots of money to insure GMO labeling did not pass in CA.  This product contains soy and 90% of the soy in this country is genetically modified.  Silicon dioxide is sand, like the kind you find on the beach.  Artificial flavor is something that should be avoided.  Anything artificial in foods is a red flag to walk away from the product.  TBHQ has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory rats. I am not sure what propellant is either.  Why do we need all these ingredients to oil a pan?  All you need is your favorite oil and a Mr Misto. I love mine!  You will never have to buy a can of this stuff again.