Banana-Pecan Amaranth

from Naturally Ella

Ingredients:

• ½ cup amaranth
• 1 cup water
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup pecan pieces
• 1 tablespoon walnut oil
• 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup*
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 bananas
• Milk (whole, almond, or coconut), to serve

Directions:

1. Soak Amaranth over night (if possible.)
2. Drain and rinse amaranth. Combine with one cup water and salt. Bring amaranth to a boil, and reduce to a simmer (all the way to low.) Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 more minutes to thicken amaranth. Add a bit of milk/water to thin the texture out if desired.
3. Add pecans to a dry skillet and toast over medium-low heat, stir often. Toast until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
4. Heat walnut oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon over medium-low heat. Cut bananas in ½” slices and add to skillet, cook until bananas are extremely tender and maple syrup has absorbed into the slices.
5. To serve, stir together ¾ of the bananas and amaranth. Pour into bowls and top with remaining bananas, pecans, and a drizzle of milk.

Chip Soup - Pumpkin Black Bean Style

Chip Soup - Pumpkin Black Bean Style

3 (15 ounce) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil/earth balance
1 1/4 cup chopped onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth


Saute onion, garlic, and olive oil until onions are translucent. Add salt, black pepper, vegetable broth, black beans, and diced tomatoes. Cook until warm. Carefully transfer to blender in small batch and blend until smooth.

Peanut Butter Cups

Peanut Butter Cups

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sucanant
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda

Mix together peanut butter, sucanant, egg, and baking soda. Place little balls of dough in a greased mini-cupcake pan. Top with chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degree for 10 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Coconut Rice Breakfast

Coconut Rice

6 cups water
3 tablespoons kefir or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups brown rice
1 can coconut milk
2 cups blueberries
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Soak rice in 3 cups water plus 3 tablespoons kefir/yogurt overnight (6 to 12 hours). Strain and rinse rice. Bring 3 cups water to a boil, add salt and stir in rice. Cover and allow rice to cook until soft and tender. Stir in coconut milk, shredded coconut, and maple syrup. Allow extra fluid to evaporate by cooking on low heat for a minute or two. Top with blueberries and watch the rice turn blue.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Hummus

adapted from My New Roots

Sweet Potato Hummus

2 cups cooked chickpeas
3 Tbsp. lemon juice concentrate
3 small sweet potatoes
1 tsp. ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
2-3 pinches sea salt
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp. liquid aminos


Directions:
1. Place sweet potatoes (with the skin on) in a baking dish in a 400 F oven and bake until very soft, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size.


2. Let the sweet potatoes cool down so that you can easily remove their skins - they should just peel off. Place them in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and blend on high to mix.

3. Serve on homemade tortillas, crackers, or vegetables.

Yummy Snowman Food

I am starting to learn that getting my toddler to eat is not necessarily about what it is I am trying to feed him... it is all about the presentation of the food.

My toddler loves to play in the snow and talk about snowman... so, when I introduced Snowman food, he was more than excited to eat it!



Snowman Food

1 banana - cut into circle (like seen above)
apple - cut into triangle for the hat
raisins (for the eyes)
dried cranberries (for the mouth)
opt. pecans for boots/arms
peanuts

Assemble your snowmen on skewers.
Have fun, and be creative on what you use to decorate your snowmen.