Year: 2013

Shelf Reliance Giveaway

Melissa King 54 Comments

I am excited to announce another giveaway!  If you live in an area prone to natural disasters, these products are for you.  Shelf Reliance specializes in long term food storage.  They harvest fruits and vegetables at their peak and then freeze dry them for long term storage.  There are no preservatives added at all.  You can eat them as a snack just as they are, or hydrate them and use for cooking just as if you would with fresh produce.  The food is stored in double insulated cans so it can be stored for long periods of time.  It would be great for camping too.

I grew up in New England where we had a lot of snow and ice.  Last year, my parents lost power for a week and all their food went bad.  It would have been great if they had some of these freeze dried options.  I got to try a few of Shelf Reliance’s products and I can tell you they taste great.  My daughter was munching on the cauliflower just as is out of the can.  They are real easy to re hydrate too.

You will get personalized service with Carol at Shelf Reliance.  To learn more about them, please check out the website.  Click here for the link.

Carol, from Shelf Reliance is also offering 1 can of either a fruit or veggie to one lucky winner of this giveaway.  To enter, please go “like” her Facebook page, and leave a comment under this blog post.  The winner will be picked Feb 5.  Good Luck!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Donuts (Vegan)

Melissa King 110 Comments

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Donuts that are vegan and gluten free! Who says you can’t have donuts on a whole food diet?  Not me!  I just make them healthier.

UPDATE: This recipe originally appeared on my blog back in 2013.  I had t remove it for 3 years because it went into my first cookbook.  Well, those 3 years are up, so I’m bringing it back to the blog! Yay!

 

peanut butter chocolate chip donuts

 

Most donuts are laden with saturated fat, processed sugars and flours.  Not these!  These are baked, not fried and made with whole grains.  Even your kids will love them.

 

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Wild Rice and Mushroom Salad

Melissa King 6 Comments

Salads can be very filling and healthy, not mention inexpensive.  So I try to create a lot of them.  I just loved the Spinach and Wild Rice Salad recipe that we came up with a few weeks ago.  That recipe inspired me to create this one.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Salad

Wild rice has a nice earthy flavor that I just thought would go really well with the mushrooms and the almonds.  If you eat tempeh, you can even throw that in this as well for an extra amount of protein.  I had to stop my husband from eating it all so I could snap some photos!

Wild Rice and Mushroom Salad

Wild Rice and Mushroom Salad

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 20 min

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cooked wild rice
  • 15 mushrooms sliced thin
  • 2 T oil (I used almond oil)
  • 1 1/2 cup green beans halved
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 3 tsp red wine vinegar
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. As the rice is cooking, cook the mushrooms in the oil slightly in a pan. Just enough to soften them. Set them aside.
  2. Once the rice is done, combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

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Recipe Notes

We actually cooked the rice ahead of time and let it cool in the fridge, but I think this dish would be great hot or cold. So do whichever you prefer. That’s it. This makes about 3-4 servings.

Rustic Vegan Pizza

Melissa King 37 Comments

I just love pizza.  Lately, I have been using Ezekiel sprouted wheat tortillas for my crust.  Today, I decided to try my hand at homemade whole wheat crust.  Mostly, because I was not in the mood to go to the store to get more tortillas.  I am glad I did because the pizza came out amazing!  I chose mushroom and spinach because those are my favorite pizza toppings.

Vegan Pizza

So, being vegan and all, I had to find a way to make a good pizza with out cheese.  I mean, I could do the vegan cheese, but it is far too processed for my liking.  So to get around that, I decided to make a “cheese” out of caramelized onions.

Rustic Vegan Pizza

What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Rustic Vegan Pizza

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Serves 1 pizza     adjust servings

Ingredients

    For the crust

    • 2 cups whole wheat flour
    • 1 pkg yeast
    • 2 T oil (I used almond oil, but your could use coconut or grapeseed oil too)
    • 1 T raw honey or maple syrup
    • 1 cup hot water
    • 1 tsp salt

    For the toppings

    • 2 yellow onions
    • 1 cup mushrooms sliced thin
    • 2 cups spinach
    • 2 T oil (I used almond oil)
    • salt to taste

    Instructions

      For the crust

      1. Mix the dry ingredients and stir.
      2. Then add the wet.
      3. Mix with your hands until you get a nice dough formed.
      4. Cover and place in a warm spot for about 20 minutes.
      5. Preheat oven to 425.
      6. On a floured surface, roll out dough.
      7. Place dough on a floured pizza stone and brush top with oil.
      8. Bake for about 10 minutes.

      For the toppings:

      1. Sweat the onions in a covered pan with the oil and salt on medium heat until they look caramelized.
      2. Add the onions to the pizza dough to create a cheese layer.
      3. Once the onions are evenly spread out, add the mushroom and the spinach.
      4. Place back in the oven for 10 minutes.
      5. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later.

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      Recipe Notes

      If you are a cheese eater, feel free to add cheese to this. However, I think it is great just how it is! For another pizza recipe, click here.

      All Things Granola

      Melissa King 31 Comments

      I have a few different granola recipes on the blog.  Since the search button on the blog pretty much stinks, I am going to throw them into one post.  The granola recipes are some of my most viewed on the blog.  I am working on a recipe index, but it will take a bit of time to complete.  Bear with me. 🙂  Until then, here are all things granola.  You may never buy boxed cereal again…

       

      granola

      Nutella Granola

      granola

      Pecan Pie Granola

      apple granola

      Apple Cinnamon Granola

      Gingerbread Granola

      Gingerbread Granola

      granola

      Tahini Granola

      granola

      Peanut Butter Cup Granola

      bars2

      Peanut Butter Granola Bars

      Pumpkin-Granol-Bars-1024x680

      Pumpkin Granola Bars

      Pumpkin 3

      Pumpkin Spice Granola

       

      All these granola treats go great with a glass of Homemade Almond Milk.  Enjoy!

       

       

       

       

      Not All Soymilk Is Created Equal

      Melissa King 7 Comments

      I have been making my own almond milk for a long time.  Click here for the recipe.  My husband is not a fan of almond milk and drinks soymilk instead.  Not all soymilk is created the same.  I would advise that any soy product you get, please make sure it has been non GMO verified because 80% of all soy grown here in the US contain GMOs.  For a shopping guide to search for your favorite products, click here.  Here is a comparison between two organic brands.
      The first one is Whole Food’s 365 Organic Soymilk.

      SAMSUNG

      Let’s look at the ingredients.

      SAMSUNG

      Well this list is pretty long and there are some shady things in here.  First off, I see there is evaporated cane juice, which is just another term for sugar.  Next, I see “natural flavors.”  You all should know me well enough by now, to know that I would run in the other direction after reading that horribly vague term.  Moving on, I see carrageenan, which may be linked to cancer.  I think there has not been enough research done to prove to me that it is safe to put in my body.  I just avoid products that contain carageenan for now.  I would not recommend this soymilk.

      So here is the next product.  I buy this for my husband.

      SAMSUNG

      As you can see, it has been non GMO verified.  Let’s look at their ingredients.

      SAMSUNG

      This is an example of a good product.  Two ingredients, both which you can identify.  If West Soy can make a product out of water and soybeans, why can’t Whole Foods?  Bottom line, if you are going to buy soymilk, please choose this one.