Not Really Fudge

My sister Heather gave me this recipe. In my no sugar state I really appreciated it! But even my kids and husband who still consume sugary sweets on a somewhat regular basis, love these. Don't be expecting fudge because it isn't. It is gooey goodness with lots of wholesome flavor. Your first taste will be surprising. Then you will be intrigued. The next thing you know, you will not be able to go into the kitchen without digging these out of the freezer. And before you know it, they will be all gone!


Not Really Fudge

1 banana
1/2 cups soaked and pitted dates (soak at least 15 minutes)
1 heaping Tbl of coconut oil
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds (I like to soak mine for a few hours but it is not necessary)
1/4 cup cocoa
natural peanut butter (optional)

process all ingredients in a food processor except peanut butter
smooth out onto wax or parchment paper on a small cookie sheet
swirl peanut butter through fudge with a knife (or spread on top once fudge starts to freeze)
freeze

serve frozen in bite size pieces *

*This fudge thaws really quickly. It cuts easily frozen and by the time you get it on your plate or pop it in your mouth it is perfect.

Healthy Family Challenge-Week Five

Eat fish at least once this week.

Why should you eat fish? Because of those omega 3 fatty acids for one. Eating fish is good for your heart, your immune system, etc, etc....

I know that some people (most of my kids, most of my sisters) do not like fish. But you can do it. If you are a seafood hater, I recommend trying a mild white fish like Tilapia for starters.

Here are a couple links to some recipes using Tilapia that I love:

Parmesan Herb Baked Tilapia
Tilapia Cakes

One of the easiest ways I like to prepare Tilapia is thus:



*Thaw a fillet

*Throw it in a frying pan with a tiny bit of oil (maybe 1/2 -1 tsp)

*Sprinkle both sides with some spices (I have been loving Kirkland's Organic No Salt Seasoning)

*Cook it, turning it over once, until the fish flakes easily with a fork (anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes).


Then I like to eat it with a potato and a big pile of veggies. I also love to eat it on toasted homemade wheat bread with some lettuce and tomato. Yum!

Now go to!

Just So You Know....

I am posting again soon.

But not tonight because I am tired and I am going to bed.

Maybe I will post tomorrow....

maybe not....

But it will be soon.

That is all.

What a Loser!

More than a dozen years ago we stopped watching television at our house

It happened one night as my husband and I sat down with our little kiddos to watch a Sunday night Disney movie on ABC, as was our custom at the time.

Then on came a questionable commercial. Then another one. And then another.....

My husband and I looked at each other and said, "enough"

And that was it.

We still had the TV and the VCR. And later the DVD player.

But we were no longer slaves to the boob tube.

And thus it will ever remain.

So over the years when everyone would talk about Lost and now House or The Office--

I really had/have no idea what anyone is talking about

and I like it that way.

But now.....

I have a confession to make.

I have become addicted to a TV show.

It is this really inspiring show called The Biggest Loser

Have you heard of it?

I joke. Of course you have.

Even I had heard of it.

I just didn't really know what it was.

Yes, I live in my own happy world.

But thanks to Hulu, our family is now regular viewers of The Biggest Loser.

Every Wednesday night.

Yes, I know it is on Tuesdays but at our house we watch it on Wednesdays, because we don't watch TV

sort of.....

There really is a point to this and somewhere it does have something to do with food. The point is that in the future I will probably be referring to The Biggest Loser a lot-because I am kind of fanatical about it. And so this post was the ice breaker. I needed to let my readership in on this and by readership I mean my sisters, because you know probably no one else reads my blog. And anyway, I just didn't want you to get all in my face about the fact that we watch a TV show ----on the internet-fyi--- and jump to the wildly ridiculous conclusion that we had started watching TV and start mocking me etc.

The End

Josh's Famous Guacamole

Again, a post and recipe from my awesome sister Jessica. Josh is her husband and he is awesome too. Not only is he a talented artist and an incredible Dad, he is a master in the kitchen.

Josh’s Famous Guacamole

Josh has experimented with his guacamole quite a bit and has finally developed a recipe he loves. And I love it. And so does everyone who’s ever tasted it. Many people agree that it is one of the best guacamoles they’ve ever tasted. It has definitely ruined some other guacamoles for me. Josh’s Famous Guacamole is most often eaten at our house with Heather’s fajitas, but was a great accompaniment to the Bacon and Black Bean Quesadillas.

3-5 Avocados

3-4 Roma Tomatoes, diced

½ Large Red Onion, diced

½ bunch Cilantro

2-3 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Garlic Salt, to taste

Chipotle Powder, to taste (Josh prefers chipotle powder, but you can also use 2-4 Serrano Chilies. Make sure to remove the seeds and wear gloves!)

Black Pepper, to taste

Cut the avocados in quarters. Throw out the pit and peel the skin. Combine the avocados, diced tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro. Mix. (Josh’s mixes it by hand so he can squish the avocados. We like chunky guacamole.) Add the lemon juice. Mix again. Mix in garlic salt, black pepper and chipotle powder one at a time. In between adding each seasoning, do a little taste check to make sure the flavor is where you like it. Go easy on the chipotle powder because it packs a powerful punch.

Use with: fajitas, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, taquitos, chips, 7-layer dip, turkey sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, burgers . . . you get the idea!

Black Bean and Bacon Quesadillas

This is a guest post/recipe from my sister Jessica, who is awesome.

Black Bean and Bacon Quesadillas

I love recipes, which is odd because I hardly ever cook. But I am constantly on the lookout for new recipes. In my perusing the other day, I found a recipe for a bacon quesadilla and one for a black bean quesadilla and I thought, why not combine the two? So I took a little of this and a little of that from each recipe and added something of my own and VOILA! Bacon and Black Bean Quesadillas. These were seriously delicious. Alek, Josh and I all devoured them. They’re especially tasty with Josh’s Famous Guacamole, the recipe of which Jen will post later. The other thing is – they’re super easy, which I am a big fan of. I love, love, love Mexican food and could eat these every night.

Bacon and Black Bean Quesadillas

4 strips of cooked bacon (we used maple-flavored, which was awesome; also, when I say 4 strips, I guess that’s not right. I used two long strips, which I cut in half and then cooked.)

1 can of black beans, drained

1 can of corn, drained

1 small can of diced green chilies, drained (or dice your own green chilies – make sure you take out the seeds!)

1 green bell pepper

4-cheese Mexican cheese blend, grated (or any kind of cheese you like)

4 large flour tortillas

Open your cans of ingredients and drain them all in a strainer to get as much moisture out as you can. Dice the green bell pepper and add it to the strainer. Once drained, transfer the ingredients to a mixing bowl. Crumble the strips of bacon and add to the other ingredients. Mix well.

Warm a pan to medium heat and spray a generous coat of cooking spray on it (or spritz olive oil, if you have one of those cool spritzer things – you know what I mean).

Lay a tortilla flat in the pan.

Sprinkle a light layer of cheese on the tortilla – just enough to help everything stick together.

Spoon in about a fourth of the mixture onto one half of the tortilla. Sprinkle a little more cheese on the top and, using tongs fold the other side of the tortilla on top of the side with the filling. Cook on one side until the tortilla is browned (a few minutes) then flip over (carefully, the filling will want to escape) and brown on the other side. Once browned on both sides, the filling should be plenty warm.

Serve with your favorite salsa, sour cream and/or guacamole.

Makes 4 quesadillas.

Notes:

• I didn’t use a lot of cheese in these quesadillas (so perhaps I need to rename them!) and they were still awesomely delicious. If you finely grate your cheese (or purchase finely grated cheese), a little can go a long way. Of course, you can use as much cheese as you want, but just know that it’s not necessary to use a lot.

• I have recently begun cooking my bacon in the oven, which is so much better than cooking bacon on the stovetop. You can cook a lot more bacon at one time and you don’t have to stand over the stove and have hot grease fly up and hit you in the face. I cook my bacon at 350 for about 20-25 minutes and it gets pretty crispy, which is how I like it.

• I didn’t use any seasonings or spices when I cooked these, but would recommend one or both of the following:

  • Garlic salt (go easy on this, though, because the bacon is already salty) or garlic powder

  • Chipotle powder (But not if you eat the quesadilla with Josh’s Famous Guacamole, because that already has chipotle powder in it and a little of that can go a long way)

• You could also add some sautéed red onion to the filling, but we didn’t because Josh’s Famous Guacamole has red onion in it.

-Jessica

Purple Smoothies

I'm not gonna make a mess. Really!