How to make ALMOND BUTTER

- 3 cups almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, or other nuts
- Sea salt to taste

Yep, that's it.  Just nuts and salt.  Feel free to add honey, cinnamon, etc.  

We know how great nuts are.  Anti-inflammatory, heart healthy, major minerals, brain food, healthy fat, necessary protein... 




So, why make your own??
- It can be raw!  Raw nuts have the most nutrients and healthy oils and fats.

- Very few sprouted nut butters available.  Soaking the nuts overnight with a sprinkle of sea salt make them MUCH MORE digestible and enzyme enhanced. 

- A lot cheaper!

- Mix and match your favorite nuts and spices.

Soak and dehydrate.

Soak the nuts overnight in water with a sprinkle of sea salt.  Rinse, and dehydrate the nuts in a dehydrator or on the lowest temperature in your oven.

Grind, grind, and grind some more in your food processor or Vitamix.  Past flour, paste dough, until you get to butter.  This could take up to 10 minutes!

Add sea salt to taste.

Loved doing another guest post for Savory Savings!!!  Enjoy :)

So excited to share another guest post with you from amazing holistic nutrition counselor and all around fabulous person, Sarah from Abundelicious!  This month she is sharing with us the secrets of bringing color into your diet – and how to do it seasonally!  By eating seasonal foods, we can save money while still eating healthy!  Now that is something I can get behind!

Craving These Colors!

As I was driving around the other day, it occurred to me that many of the colors I was seeing in the trees, bushes, and shrubbery were identical to those of the fall fruits and vegetables I had just prepared earlier that day.

We, as humans, were meant to eat according to the harvest seasons.  The availability in grocery stores of any food at any time is a recent phenomenon.  In the hot, humid days of summer, raw, cold foods such as strawberries, snow peas, and salad greens are cooling and energizing to keep us going during those long and active days. 

However, when it is cold and dry outside, it is helpful to eat food that is warming and moist.  If we pay attention, nature provides us with the very foods we need to stay balanced and healthy in any given harvest season. 

In the fall and winter, we may experience ailments such as allergies, dry skin, depression, arthritis, etc due to the changing climate and shrinking days.  Many of the foods found in the same seasons help alleviate these conditions.

APPLES: contain Quercetin, which helps alleviate fall allergies, asthma, sneezing and congestion.  Apples clear the mucus that may harden during the winter and contribute to digestive issues.  They also disperse heat that has accumulated in the body during the summer, which helps prepare us for the fall and winter.   Opt for sour over sweet… think green apples.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS: part of the cruciferous family (think broccoli and cauliflower).  They are good for the liver and full of protein.  Please be sure to cook them well, because they can be difficult to digest for some!

CINNAMON: in addition to being one of the best ways to keep your blood sugar steady, cinnamon makes a great arthritis remedy when mixed with honey.  Also, gives the palate the illusion of sweetness, which is very helpful when trying to reduce/illuminate sugar.

CRANBERRIES: one of the richest sources of antioxidants, and they will help your immune system fight off fall colds and viruses.   Perfect addition to smoothies!

PUMPKIN SEEDS: (a.k.a. Pepitas) were treasured by the Native Americans for their dietary and medicinal properties.  They improve mood and increase serotonin levels, so have some when you feel the winter blues creeping up.  They are also a great source of Omega-3.  Try soaking at least 8 hours for easier digestion.  High in magnesium, iron, and protein!

SQUASH: loaded with vitamins.  Leave the skin on varieties such as butternut and acorn when roasting for additional nutrients!

These are just a few examples of the abundant and delicious fall/winter harvest.  Take advantage of what nature has provided for us, and be healthier and happier for doing so!

All the best,

Abundelicious 

Berry Good Oatmeal Cookies

BERRY GOOD OATMEAL COOKIES…
Vegan and Gluten Free, y'all!

These cookies have more sugar in them than I generally like to use, so I consider them special occasion cookies.  That being said, using coconut sugar (aka coconut sap) makes them 25% lower on the glycemic index.  Also, adding healthy fats and proteins such as the walnuts or cashews helps lower that too.  Want to make them even lower?  Add pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of the berries, and use cacao nibs instead of the chocolate chips.  Cacao is raw chocolate (before they add dairy and sugar).  It also has more antioxidants than blueberries, yo!

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

1 1/4 cup gluten free all-purpose flour blend

¾ tsp baking Powder

½ tsp baking Soda

½ tsp salt

1 ¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup walnuts or cashews, chopped

1 cup dried sour cherries or cranberries (unsweetened)

6 ounces vegan chocolate chips or cacao nibs

¾ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled

1 ½ cups coconut sap/sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tlb ground chia seed

3 Tlbs water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1.)  Line baking sheets with parchment paper

2.)  Mix ground chia seed with water, and let sit

3.)  In a bowl, mix flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

 (I used Namaste brand all-purpose gluten-free flour)

4.)  In another bowl, combine oats, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate.

 (For the batch I was making when I snapped this picture, I substituted sunflower and pumkin seeds for the nuts and raisins for the dried cranberries.

.5.)  With electric mixer, mix coconut oil and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Then, add chia mixture and vanilla.

6.)  Slowly, add flour mix, and then berry/nut mix.

(The batter is very loose like granola.  Form each cookie together like clay, and pack as tightly as possible.  Trust me, they will be solid when they are baked and cooled.)

7.)  Roll 2 tablespoon-sized portions between your hands, and place onto baking sheet.  Lightly, press down dough.

8.)  Bake for 15-17 mins.  Remove when the cookies look slightly undercooked.

9.)  Cool those delicious cookies on a wire rack, and ENJOY!

Take a little of the unused cookie dough and add more oats, as well as coconut flakes.  This makes some very yummy granola!

Beet Kvass

We all know BEETS are good for us, but there has got to be an easier and more enjoyable way of eating them.  Beet kvass is it!!  This superfood elixir can be enjoyed alone or in a smoothy, gazpacho, or with sparkling water.  

Kvass is so easy and INEXPENSIVE to make.  This recipe results in a dark and fizzy tonic with not only the many benefits of beets, but, also, the probiotic value of any naturally fermented beverage or food.

So, what makes beets so good for us? 

• Rich in antioxidants and B vitamins
• Good for circulation and producing bile
• Purify the blood
• Good for liver health
• Especially good for relieving constipation

Ingredients: 2 beets, 1 Tbl sea salt, and filtered water

You will also need a gallon-sized mason/ball jar (I used two quart-sized jars)

Chop beets into 1/2 inch pieces.  I made mine with the skin on, but you can cut it off, if you wish.

Place in jars.

Add sea salt to gallon jar (I distributed salt evenly between my two quart jars).

Fill to top (leave about an inch) with water.

Screw on tops, and leave at room temperature to ferment for 1 - 1.5 weeks.  Keep out of direct sunlight (I place a couple of dishtowels over mine).  Taste to determine if ready... liquid should not taste as sweet.

Tomato and Hemp Summer Salad

This salad is VEGAN and gluten free (duh), y'all!!!  Whoo hoo :)

1 organic, fresh, delicious, TOMATO, chopped
1/4 cup OLIVES, sliced (or more if you are addicted like me!)
1-2 ARTICHOKE hearts (I like to buy in the jarred kind)
1/2 AVOCADO, sliced
any other veggies or herbs you think would be delicious
GREENS
2 Tbls HEMP SEEDS, shelled
1 Tbl raw COCONUT SPREAD/BUTTER drizzled on top
1 Tbl OLIVE OIL drizzles

This salad has it all!  Great protein in the hemp (especially good for athletes), as well as the avocado.  MORE than enough healthy fat (my favorite part).  Not to mention, all the kick butt nutrients in the veggies :)

Go Make it Yourself!

Obviously, I would LOVE for all of you to prepare 100% of your snacks, meals, and beverages from scratch, BUT, since I live here in the real world with the rest of you, I know that this is a tall order.  I prepare about 90% of my own food/beverages from scratch.  This means soups, granola bars, bakery, fermented foods, and beverages such as kombucha, "sports drinks", etc.  To live this way requires either a live in chef OR foresight (I use the latter).

Think of your kitchen as a deli or a restaurant.  When the owner of a deli sees he or she is running low on chicken salad, soup (frozen or not), bakery, etc, then more is made.  Not just after the inventory is totally depleted, but BEFORE.  Take into account, schedules, holidays, budgets, etc when considering how much prepared food - your "inventory"- you will need in a week/month/etc.

I usually like to plan 2 or 3 recipes a week, and make them all on Saturday or Sunday.  I make waaaayyy more than I need, cook, cut into serving sizes, and freeze.  Voila!!  TV dinners that are healthy, homemade, and budget savvy.

FASCINATING excerpt from Michael Pollan's new book Cooked...

Since the 1970's, Sister Noella who is a Benedictine nun has been making raw cheese on the abbey farm. This is not just any cheese; but one of France’s most prized cheeses: Saint- Nectaire. It is a semi-solid, fungal ripened cheese made from raw milk that has been the pride of France's Auvergne region since the seventeenth century.

The problem is, Sister Noella’s abbey is in Connecticut, and according to the FDA, raw cheese is illegal. The FDA indicates that cheese must be made in a sterile environment in stainless steel containers.

According to Sister Noella, on the other hand, Saint-Nectaire must be made in an ancient wooded barrel and stirred with a wooden spoon (her particular spoon boasts a carved cross on the paddle). In short, nothing about her cheese room was sterile or ever could be, and the FDA took notice.

So, in her thirties, Sister Noella went back to school to get a Ph.D. in microbiology in hopes that she could prove to the FDA that her cheese is safe.

Ph.D. in tow, she made two batches of cheese. The first she made in sterile stainless steel containers with pasteurized milk, while the second batch mimicked her original method: unsterile room with an unsterile barrel and unsterile spoon and, of course, raw milk.

Here’s the clincher: into both batches, she introduced a significant amount of E. coli - a toxic bacteria.

Once the cheeses were ready for consumption, she tested them for bacteria levels. The cheese made in sterile containers had high levels of E. coli, while the cheese made in the wooden barrel had next to none.

Interestingly, we all have E. coli in our gut from time to time. In a healthy gut with lots of good microbes, the introduction of E. coli will rally the good bugs to knock out the pathogens. In Sister Noella's wooden barrel, the good bacteria hidden in the old crevices of the wood outperformed the bad bugs.

Since then, the FDA has left her alone to continue making her raw, unsterile cheese.

Source:
Pollan M. Cooked. A Natural History of Transformation. Penguin Press. New York. 2013

Homemade Candy Bars

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, lightly packed 
3 tablespoons coconut oil 
1 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
Pinch of sea salt 
1 3oz. bar dark chocolate (70% or higher), chopped like this one

In a food processor, process the shredded coconut, coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract, and salt until it forms a thick paste, about 2-3 minutes or until it holds together when pressed into palm.

 

Drop the coconut mixture by the tablespoon onto parchment paper. Form each ball into squares (or whatever shape you want).  Press almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, cherries, etc. (all optional) on top. Freeze the coconut for 15-30 minutes, or until solid.

Melt the chopped chocolate in double boiler (or in sauce pot placed on top of a different sauce pot of simmering water) stirring constantly until chocolate is fully melted.   If it isn’t fully melted or starting to burn, they won’t look good.

Place coconut shape onto fork and roll around in melted chocolate. 

Place in fridge/freezer to set.  ENJOY!!!

Make Your OWN Nut Butters!

Ingredients:
2 cups raw nuts (preferably soaked and dehydrated) 
½ tsp sea salt 

Method:
Place ingredients into food processor and run on high for 3-5 minutes until the nuts turn into butter. 
Store your nut butter in an air tight container in the refrigerator, where it will keep for about 2 weeks.

Key Lime Pie-Petites

Grain free, Dairy free, Gluten free, LOW sugar

Crust

·       ¾ cup raw hazelnuts (preferably soaked and dehydrated)

·       1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

·       8 dates, pitted

·       1/8 tsp of sea salt

Lime Filling

·       1 cup cashew butter (or make your own - click here)

·       ½ cup coconut oil, melted

·       ½ cup fresh lime juice

·       1-2 Tbs honey, raw unprocessed

·       ½ tsp vanilla extract

·       1/8 tsp sea salt

·       lime zest for garnish (optional)

1.     Line 2 muffin tins with muffin liners (if you have mini muffin tins with mini liners, use those)

2.     Place all crust ingredients into food processor and blend until broken down into coarse flour consistency

3.     Spoon 2 tsps of crust mixture into each liner and press down firmly.

4.     Place into freezer for 10 minutes

5.     In medium bowl, stir filling ingredients (except lime zest) until completely combined.

6.     Remove crust-filled liners from freezer and spoon 1 Tbs of lemon mixture into each one.

7.     Garnish with lime zest, and place back into freezer for at least 30 mins. 
8.     Store in fridge or. freezer

 (seen here with lemon zest)