Clean Eating #143: Blackberry Cobbler

Blackberry Cobbler

Guest Post by my awesome fifteen year old son, Jaedin

Who spends his free time picking these:

I found a bunch of blackberry bushes back in the 'forest' by our house.  We rent, but the owners told us we were welcome to whatever berries we wanted.  So I pick them (sometimes with my sisters' help) and sell them as well as fresh cobbler at the local farmer's market for some extra spending money.

I take the leftovers home and everyone eats them if I don't sell them or freeze them fast enough.

I make some with normal sugar, but most of them I make with Xylitol.  A lot of the people who come to the farmer's market want sugar free things because they're diabetic, so I always sell more if I make sugar free.  Since mom pretty much never buys 'real' sugar, its not a problem!

I make the regular ones with the berries on the bottom so I can easily tell the difference at the market.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 cups unbleached flour (You can replace half with whole wheat flour)
• 1 cup Xylitol
• 2 cups milk
• 3 1/2 cups blackberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Pour melted coconut oil equally in the bottom of two pie pans
3. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, xylitol and milk; batter will be slightly lumpy. Pour mixture on top of melted butter in your pie pans. Do not mix butter and mixture together.
4. Drop blackberries into batter; if more crust is desired add less blackberries. Bake in preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes until golden brown.

Serve warm or cold, although if you can talk your mom into it, this tastes AWESOME with vanilla ice cream!

Clean Eating #88: Homemade Chocolate Pudding with Protein

Chocolate Pudding with a Protein "boost"

This is O.M.G. good.

Not even joking a little bit.

The other day I was at Reasors and they had their half gallons of milk on sale ten for $10.00.  With the "no hormones used" milk being nearly $4.00 a gallon, this was a great deal.  I put ten jugs in my basket (because of course I was only going to get milk, who need a cart for milk??)  I thought "I'm a buff chick, I can carry some measly milk jugs to the front of the store."

Do you know how much 1/2 gallon of milk weighs?  I do.

*nervous tic*

Now multiply that by ten.  Yeah, my buff self carried almost 50 pounds through the entire store.  With one hand.

Do you need a moment to collect yourself from your AWE of my buffness?  Don't.  I was crying by the time I reached the front.  Well, not out loud, but still.  One of those journeys where you start out strong and half way there you're thinking, "Maybe it wouldn't be too hard to just run up and grab a cart... nah... I'm almost half way there by now."

And a few minutes later you're weeping loudly (on the inside, of course) and whining at yourself for being so stupid as to not get a cart.

"WHEN DO YOU EVER GO INTO A STORE AND ONLY GET ONE THING, BYN???  HMMMMMM???  WHEN!!"

So anyway, that was all just to say I made pudding again.  Chocolate to celebrate the fact that three women and two boys appear to be suffering from PMS in this house.  "Hey MOM!  Do we have any CHOCOLATE?" seems to be the rallying cry lately (from me included, but I don't have anyone else to ask).  And mind you, that is NEVER said in a simply curious way... always in a near panicked I-MUST-HAVE-CHOCOLATE-NOW-OR-My-WORLD-Will-SIMPLY-COLLAPSE! kind of way.

Without further ado (in case you're dealing with your own family PMSing at the same time:

Ingredients:

• 6 Cups of skim/2 % Milk (2% was on sale, I usually use skim, but I'm not arguing with $2.00 a gallon milk!)
• 6 Scoops of Chocolate Protein Powder
• 3 TBSP of Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 cup of Xylitol
• 6Tbsp of Arrowroot powder

Yummy goodness!

Directions:

1. Blend dry ingredients and 1/2 of the milk in the blender until smooth
2. Add to the remaining milk and heat in a heavy pan on the stove until warm, stirring with a whisk every few minutes.
3. When the mixture starts to get HOT, add some of the hot mixture to your egg yolks.
4. Keep adding hot to the egg yolks until the eggs have been warmed up to the approximate temperature of the pudding mixture.
5. Bring to a full boil (at which point it will be pretty thick) and then pour into small glass dishes 

See all of my neat matching dessert dishes?  Well, no one complains around here about dishes not matching.  I'm not sure the kids even notice the dishes except when they're washing them.  Or when they're looking for the biggest one...

I tell you, I wasn't even interested in chocolate pudding today, but I sacrificed so that I could share the results with you.  It was wonderful.  Tasted just like the pudding my grandma used to make!  LOVE warm chocolate pudding, and got my protein fix too!

Clean Eating #86: Vanilla Protein Coconut Pudding

Vanilla Protein Coconut Pudding

Ingredients:
4-5 cups of skim milk or coconut milk
1/4 c of vanilla protein powder (We used the Attain Vanilla powder from Meleluca, but you can use whatever you have on hand.  I've also used other kinds with similar results)
1/4 cup of arrowroot powder
1/8 cup of xylitol/Stevia
1/4 cup of coconut
1/4 cup of coconut, toasted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Blend milk, arrowroot powder, xylitol and protein powder in the blender

Add to a sauce pan on the stove on medium heat

Stirring occasionally, heat to a slow boil.

**You will need to stir more often as it gets hotter.

Once it comes to a rolling boil, remove from heat and put in serving bowls.

If you like, you can spread some coconut on a pan and put it under the broiler for a minute or two to toast it as a nice topping for the serving bowls.

Squatch (the boy who said before, "Mom, I love your real meals, but the healthy dessert suck.") Said, "Man, Mom.  This is by far the best healthy dessert you've made yet... wait.  Is this healthy?"
Me, "Yes, its healthy, it actually has protein in it."
Squatch, "Oh then, yeah, its good."

Happy 13th Birthday Paris!! Homemade, almost clean Cinnamon Rolls

13th Birthday Cinnamon Rolls

Today is my daughter's 13th birthday.
Instead of cake, she asked for Cinnamon rolls...
so, of course, with that kind of request, how could I say no?

I found a recipe here, and we used what we had on hand (which is what made them mostly clean)
This is what we used instead:

• 1 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 5 Tbsp Vital Wheat Gluten
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp paking powder
• 2 Tbsp instant yeast
• 1/2 cup Xylitol
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 eggs

For the fillings I used

coconut oil

cinnamon

chopped frozen blueberries

Whey Low brown sugar

sliced almonds

Directions:
Heat milk & butter in sauce pan until butter is melted and the milk is just warm.
Add water and eggs to your wet ingredients.

Mix all dry ingredients in bowl.

Slowly add dry ingredients to warm liquids, mix with mixer until you get to the point that the dough is forming and somewhat firm.  You should have some dry ingredients left.  Go ahead and put the remainder of the dry ingredients on the table, knead your dough until all the dry ingredients are kneaded in, then knead for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Cover loosely with a towel or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise for about thirty minutes.

Take a handful of dough and spread into a rectangle on a greased surface, like so:

Rub lightly with coconut oil

Sprinkle with cinnamon

Sprinkle with Brown Sugar substitute

Roll Up

Slice

Put slices in a greased pan and let rise for about 10-15 minutes

I like to add blueberries and almonds to about half of the cinnamon rolls as well.

Finished!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!!

Verdict:  These were SO good, even my picky son said, "Thank you for making "real" cinnamon rolls and not healthy ones!"

We added some yogurt cheese to about half of them and I thought it was the best thing ever with a nice cup of coffee.  Now, I'm off to the gym to make up for the fact that I ate several of these!

I also made a blueberry bread loaf that turned out really well.  Instead of cutting completely through, I cut half way and baked as a loaf.  This looked super fancy and I think it would work really well if you were have a special dinner or something as a decadent looking dessert!

Clean Eating #78: Super Easy Frozen Yogurt (without an ice cream maker)

Frozen Yogurt without a machine

Ingredients:

1 16 oz. tub of plain yogurt

2 cups of frozen fruit (we used strawberries for one, blueberries for the other)

1/4th cup of Xylitol

Directions:

We don't have an ice cream maker, so I had to do it the slow way.  Basically, to keep your yogurt from freezing solid, you have to take it out of the freezer every 20-30 minutes and blend it up to get air bubbles in it.  It worked like a charm, except when I forgot about it and the blueberry yogurt ended up way too hard.  The kids still ate it, though, so it was all good.

The girls couldn't wait for it to get any firmer, so they had theirs 'soft serve' style.

Clean Eating #76: Featured Friday: The Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookie Recipe

Featured Friday!!

Thanks to my newfound blog friend Marvi Marti, I have a new feature!  Featured Fridays are for guest bloggers to post thier favorite clean recipe.  This saves me a little bit of work, give you some much needed variety and helps us all meet new people!  I'm busy researching me soon to be new adventure... so here you have it:

The Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookie Recipe

by Robyn Lucas of "Crashing the Boys Club" blog

**My favorite post thus far?  Her post on Turning 40... because I'm doing that this year, too, and like Robyn, I feel better than ever.  No way am I 'old'!!

A Cookie That’s Good For You? I’ll Believe It When I Taste It!

Wait, Come Back!

          Stop!  Don’t run away. Just because I said that this cookie is healthy, you shouldn’t assume that it is going to taste awful or like sawdust with a few cranberries thrown in.  It really is good.  Trust me.  Have I steered you wrong, yet?  Again, don’t bring up the lavender ice cream fiasco.  That was my fault, not the recipe.  It would have tasted great, if I had made it right.  Gees! 

I decided to try this recipe for a few reasons.  First, my typical breakfasts were becoming boring.  I usually bounce between oatmeal and an egg white scramble with veggies.   While both of these are great choices for getting my morning started, both take time and some mornings, I just do not have the time.  I wanted something that I could make ahead and keep ready to eat as I’m running out the door.  And, finally, it’s a healthy cookie!  Who doesn’t want to be able to enjoy a good cookie and not have to feel guilty?  Swimsuit season is right around the corner.

          The Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookie recipe was taken from The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno.  I could try and explain the whole clean eating philosophy, but that would take up a lot of time and I want you all to stay awake with me.  In a nutshell, it’s eating foods that are fresh, unprocessed, and naturally full of nutrients.  So back to my story about cookies, that’s why you’re here, right?!    I really like these cookies and my boys have all given them the two thumbs up award.  My boys like these as after-school snacks and light snacks before practices and games. 

The Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookie Recipe

• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup light oil
• 3 egg whites
• ¼ cup finely chopped dried figs
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup Bran flakes or oat bran
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp allspice
• ¼ cup slivered almonds

• 1. Preheat oven to 350F.
• 2. Combine sugar, oil and egg whites in large mixing bowl; add in dried fruits and vanilla.
• 3. Combine all dry ingredients minus almonds and add to egg mixture. Mix until just blended. Stir in almonds.
• 4. Drop by tablespoon full onto parchment paper covered baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until almost set. Remove and cool in pans before transfering to wire rack to cool completely.

• Nutrition information: (per cookie. Calories: 15g, Calories from Fat : 156, Protein : 2g, Carbs: 22g, Dietary Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 12g, Fat: 6g, Sodium: 26g

Clean Eating #74: Carrot Cake Muffins with Yogurt Cheese Icing

Carrot Cake Muffins with Yogurt Cheese Icing

Ingredients

(Note:  my son Jaedin made these, and he's not half as concerned with seeing messes during the process.  He did clean up afterwards, though.)

7 cups whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons and 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 3 tablespoons baking soda 1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons sea salt 15 eggs 2 1/2 cups agave nectar 2 1/2 cups xylitol 2 cups coconut oil

2 cups ground flax seed 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 12 cups grated carrot

	Grease and flour the bottoms  of 60 muffin cups, or mini loaf pans. Mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt; set aside.
	In a separate bowl, mix the eggs,xylitol,and agave nectar. Stir in the coconut oil, vanilla, flax seed and grated carrot; blend into the flour mixture.
	Bake in preheated oven at 350 until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 15 to 25 minutes. Remove to cool on wire racks.

You can find the recipe for yogurt cheese icing here Yogurt Cheese

And then... he went fishing.  For two hours.  It was more fun than baking.  So was my fitness date with my hubby on the biking trails along that same river!

Clean Eating #61: Tapioca Style Quinoa Pudding Treat

Thick & Creamy Vanilla Quinoa Pudding

*If you like Tapioca pudding, You'll LOVE this Clean Version!

Oh.  My.  Word.  This was AHmazing!  I think even my picky older kids would like this.  That is, if they were home before it all disappeared.  I'm not sure that's going to happen, because it is DELICIOUS.  Even when compared to "real" pudding.

Yeah, Even THEN!

3 cups of skim milk
1 medium banana
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
2 Tbsp Ideal Brand Brown Sugar Substitute
1/4th Cup Vanilla Protein Powder
1 tsp vanilla
sprinkle of cinnamon
**Quinoa** I use between 1/2 - 1 cup of uncooked quinoa... I like a lot of lumpiness in mine.  I would start with 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa in with the rest of the ingredients before you start cooking.

Alternatively, you can start with the quinoa already cooked (I have used leftover quinoa to make this before and the kids liked it better that way.  I prefer it a little crunchier)

Directions:
Put the banana, 1 cup of milk, protein powder, quinoa and Tapioca Starch in the blender to puree
Pour the pureed ingredients into a pan on medium heat.
Stir often with a whisk, add other ingredients (except cinnamon)

Keep on medium and bring to a slow boil. 
Once it starts to bubble, remove from heat, pour into bowls and serve hot or refrigerate to let set.

Every time I've had quinoa in something else, I've thought it reminded me of a slightly crunchy tapioca and I've been soooo curious to try it in a pudding form.  I wasn't disappointed at ALL.  This was fantastic!  I can't wait to see if my pick kids will like it.  Although I'm not sure they even like tapioca, so I may not waste it on them!

This SO reminded me of my grandma Pohren's homemade pudding from when I was a kid.  I wish she still lived across the road so I could take her some!  I think she's be impressed... as long as I didn't tell what was actually in it!:)

Clean Eating #46: Simple Yogurt Cheese (Greek Yogurt Substitute) for sauces & icing

Simple Yogurt Cheese

Ingredients:

One large container of plain, all natural low-fat yogurt.

You'll also need cheese cloth & preferably a metal strainer/sieve. 

*The first time I did this, I used a thin dish towel, some rubber bands and a plastic container and it worked, but not quite as well as this did!

Line the Sieve with 3-4 layers of cheese cloth.
Place over a container so that the kiquid can drip out without touching the sieve.
Fill with plain yogurt.
Leave refrigerated overnight.
In the morning, it should resemble the consistency of cream cheese.
Put back in original container and use as a replacement for cream cheese, for creamy sauces (tuna noodle cheese, beef stroganoff, etc.)

 Draining most of the liquid off seems to drain off a lot of the 'sour' taste of yogurt.  I really like how it tasted and how well it worked!

Use it to make Chocolate Icing for Black Bean Brownies (or anything, it makes a DELICIOUS 'real' tasting icing) or vanilla icing for Fruit filled Crescent rolls like our Apple Cinnamon Crescent Rolls.

Clean Eating #44: Black Bean Brownies w/Cocoa Yogurt Cheese Frosting

Black Bean Brownies w/Cocoa Yogurt Cheese Frosting

I saw this recipe on Angie's Healthy Living Blog and decided that I had to try it.

 Ingredients:
Brownies:

• 1 1/2 Cups soft cooked black beans
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/3 Cup agave nectar
• 1/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Ingredients for the Icing:

• Yogurt Cheese (drain Plain yogurt overnight with cheese cloth and a strainer OR use Greek Yogurt)
• 1 Tbsp Cocoa
• 2-4 Tbsp Ideal Xylitol Substitute (to taste)
• Mix well, store in the refrigerator between uses. *frost when ready to eat... I'm not sure about using the frosting ahead of time. 

 Verdict:  I liked them, Paris and Jaedin liked them.  My hubby, Squatch & The Bean didn't care for them.  Jaedin kept saying, "Are you SURE there are black beans in this?" but the other kids went, "Ooooohhhhh, that explains it."  They almost reminded me of a protein bar.

Basically, if you're looking for something to ease your chocolate craving, and not kill your diet, this might do it for you, it worked for me (but only WITH the "icing").  Is it 'as good' as a "real" brownie... Of course not, silly.  However, if I wasn't a sugar addict (Ie:  If I could EAT just ONE "real" brownie without downing the whole entire pan and gaining ten pounds as well as giving myself a crushing head ache), then I wouldn't be eating so clean in the first place, now would I?  Probably not.

What I'd do differently next time:  Since I know that more fat equals more flavor, I will definitely mess with this recipe and add some coconut oil or milled flax.  It definitely needs a little something.  Also, next time I won't forget the nuts that were in the original recipe.  It is a keeper, though, even if only three out of 6 of us eat them.