Maple Candy

October 24, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I am not that good at baking. When I come up with recipes, I like having freedom to add or subtract or substitute ingredients and that tends to not work as well with baking. Yes, there are ways to make things healthier or try different ingredients with baking, but you have to be very precise or else you end up with a lot of inedible failures. And I really hate throwing away food so I tend to shy away from baking. But I have been trying to come up with some good treats to share with you so that there is a good variety of recipes on this blog. There has been some success, but there has also been some failure. This maple candy believe it or not was a failure that ended up turning into a success. What I was trying to make was a frosting recipe I had made a few times before, what I ended up with was candy. Figure that one out! Either way, this is a tasty little candy that is actually good for you. It is a little salty, a little sweet, and satisfies the craving for a little treat. No more stalling, onto my frosting failure but candy succes!

Maple Candy

1 cup shredded or flaked coconut, unsweetened
2 to 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp molasses
1/2 tsp salt

1. In a blender or food processor, blend the coconut shreds until it starts to make a paste. This might take some time and you will have to stop and scrape the sides down. You don’t need a perfectly smooth mixture, but it should be sticking together

2. Add in the maple syrup, molasses, salt and 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil. Blend together, if you need more oil to help it come together add in another tbsp.

3. Either on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or silicone molds (I used a silicone ice cube tray) scoop out about 2 teaspoons of the candy mixture. Place the baking sheet or mold in the freezer for at least an hour. Remove and keep the candy in a container in either the fridge or freezer.

I like the salty flavor that these candies have but if you would like it a little sweeter, use 1/4 teaspoon salt instead of a 1/2 teaspoon. Make sure you keep the candy in a cool place or else they will start to melt. Hope you enjoy my rather fortunate failure and have a great weekend!

Olaf wanted to get in on these candies!

Date and Almond Sauce

October 10, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I have been testing out a few new recipes for another project that I’m working on (details later), which means that I have 3 batches of different healthy frostings sitting around my kitchen. This has been a good thing for Adam because he gets to eat and try all the things that I have been testing, but I still haven’t totally nailed down what I am looking for. Don’t worry I’m close, and along the way I have made a really great sauce that can be used for a multitude of things. I don’t usually post sweet recipes here, but I want to make sure I have a good variety for whatever culinary mood you’re in. And yes, there is sour cream in this recipe. Trust me on this one. After the recipe, I’ll give you some ways to use this tasty sauce!

Date and Almond Sauce

6 large Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
2 tsp molasses
1 tbsp sour cream*
1 tbsp smooth almond butter

* I use a dairy-free, homemade version of sour cream but you can use whatever you normally have on hand. You can also use greek yogurt if you would prefer.

1. Soak the pitted and chopped dates in warm water for about 15 minutes. Drain the water, reserving a few tablespoons. Add the dates and the rest of the ingredients to a food processor or blender. Process until you have a smooth sauce, adding some of the reserved water to reach the consistency you want.

You can use this sauce right away, but I like it a little better after it has been in the fridge for a few hours. You can use this sauce in oatmeal, smoothies, ice cream, yogurt, spread on bread, muffins, cookies, or if you’re totally wild you can just eat it with a spoon. Get creative and see what else this sauce tastes delicious on! I hope you have a great Friday and an awesome weekend!

How To Stock Your Kitchen

October 8, 2014 / ktbuchs87

For some of you, eating healthier is a whole new ball game. You’ve never done it before and now you’re wondering what to buy at the grocery store and what to keep on hand in your kitchen. You were used to shopping and eating one way and now that needs to change. You can’t continue buying junk food and expect to lose weight or be healthy. But what do you buy? What are things that “healthy” people fill their pantries and fridges with? I am going to share four simple things that I always keep around and are easy to incorporate into meals for healthy dishes.

Fruits and Vegetables

Let’s just start with the obvious one and get it out of the way. Yes, I always have fruits and vegetables in my kitchen. For the most part I buy what’s in season because it’s cheaper and tastes better, but I also buy carrots, bananas, frozen vegetables, and potatoes year round. If you want to eat better, start adding more of these foods into your meals. Your mother was right, eat your vegetables because they’re good for you!

Grains and Beans

At the moment I have a variety of beans, including chickpeas, pinto, black-eyed peas, and split peas, on my shelf. I also have two kinds of oatmeal, millet, quinoa, brown rice, pasta, popcorn, and polenta. All of these are great add ins to many meals as well as a food foundation to top with sauces, vegetables, meat, and more. Most of the grains that I keep on hand are very easy and quick to cook so they can be made for a tasty week night meal. I like the taste and texture of dried beans better than canned, but they do take longer to prepare because you have to soak them to cook them. If you don’t have the time to do that, there are plenty of good brands of canned beans. Just make sure to read the ingredient list and rinse them well before you use them. The other reason that I like having a plethora of beans and grains on hand is that they are cheap. I buy all of these things from the bulk bins at Whole Foods and most are less than $2 a pound. If you don’t have a store with a bulk section these foods are still cheap. You can get a one pound bag of lentils or brown rice for .99 cents! That is some good and cheap eats.

Canned Goods

I always have at least one can of tomato paste, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes on my pantry shelf. These can be used for stews, soups, sauces, toppings for meatloaf, salsa, or anything else that you can think of for tomatoes. I buy the no sodium added kind and make sure that there is nothing but tomatoes on the ingredient list. These are also pretty cheap because I buy the store brand at Jewel. One other canned good that I usually have on hand is full fat coconut milk and pumpkin. Again these can be used in so many dishes, from sweet to savory and can be found for fairly cheap prices if you look around.

Herbs and Spices

I have a huge herb and spice collection and it is bound to get bigger. I love making my own blends, like taco seasoning, and trying out new flavors in dishes. Herbs and spices are a very important part of my cooking because they help take food to the next level. Many people complain that healthy food is bland and boring, but it doesn’t have to be if you have a handful of spices around. Try classics like oregano and basil, or branch out with spices like curry or garam masala or berbere or harissa. Experiment with different flavors and find ones that you like the best and kick up your meals a notch. I’m fortunate to live in Chicago near The Spice House and buy most of my seasonings there, but Whole Foods sells theirs in bulk as well and many grocery stores have a large and good selection. As with any food though make sure you read the labels because some companies add in chemicals to keep the spices from clumping in transit.

There you have it. Four staples of the Dawson household. I use these things on a daily basis to create healthy meals and they are a good starting point for stocking a healthy kitchen. Of course I have more than just this food in my house, but I would say that most meals that I make are based on or incorporate these foods. Don’t feel overwhelmed if you are just starting out. Build your healthy kitchen slowly and find things that you enjoy and will use regularly. There is no wrong way to create your own healthy stock of food!

Carrot Fennel Soup

October 3, 2014 / ktbuchs87

With the weather getting chillier, I start craving warm and hearty meals. I also break out my trusty slow cooker to make those warm and hearty meals. Soup is a great fall meal and is is really simple to make. I would love to say that this recipe was meticulously thought out and planned and prepared, but…. I pretty much found what I had in my fridge/pantry, put it in my slow cooker, and hoped for the best. And I got super lucky, because this was an awesome meal and will be made again! Plus it makes a lot of leftovers so you can start freezing a few batches and building up your freezer stock.

Carrot Fennel Soup

1 pound of carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 bulb of fresh fennel, diced
1 large onion, diced
4 stalks celery, washed and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 in. knob of fresh ginger, minced
5 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water, extra if needed
3 tsp dill
salt and pepper

1. Heat a little olive oil in a pan over medium high heat and saute the carrots and celery. Once they have a little brown on them put them in the slow cooker. In the same pan, saute the onion, fennel, ginger, and garlic. Once the onion is soft and translucent add to the slow cooker.

2. Pour the vegetable broth over the vegetables and add enough water to cover all the vegetables. Add in the dill and salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until you have a smooth puree. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can puree your soup in a blender in batches.

The fennel in this soup is surprising and delicious addition. You should be able to find fresh fennel at most grocery stores, I found mine at Trader Joes. Enjoy this soup on it’s own, topped with sour cream, or with a nice slice of bread. Happy October!

The Numbers Game

September 30, 2014 / ktbuchs87

The number of pounds you weigh. The number of calories you’ve eaten. The number of miles you’ve run. The number of hours you’ve spent working out. The number of inches around your waist. It appears that numbers and your health go hand in hand. Many times it can seem like being healthier is a big numbers game. Add more numbers here while subtracting some there and multiplying it all together and you get a better you, right?

Not necessarily. While it is important to know some numbers about your health, like your cholesterol, sometimes we put too much focus on them. So often we get caught up in hitting a certain number on the scale or eating a certain number of calories per meal that we lose sight of what it means to be truly healthy. For most of my teenage and young adult years, I was a slave to numbers. For me the big numbers were what I weighed and how many calories I consumed everyday.

In my mind, if I could control these numbers everything would click and I would finally get the body that I wanted and finally be happy. Make the numbers go down and everything would be alright. I would hop on the scale each morning and see if my calculations had worked for me or against me. If the number on the scale was what I thought it should be, I was happy. But even one number off of what I desired and immediately my mood would change. That’s when I realized I had a problem. If a simple number on the scale could dictate what my attitude was going to be that day, I was in trouble. Over time, I learned that the amount you weigh isn’t everything when it comes to being healthier. I started to weigh myself less and less and tried to not fixate on my weight. It was tough to let go, because it was a comfort to see the number move the way I wanted and feel like what I was doing worked. But I wasn’t totally free of the numbers. Now I turned my attention to the number of miles I ran/walked each week or how many minutes I worked out each day. I even started to take measurements once a week just to make sure I was doing everything right.

That was my biggest motivation for sticking with numbers, it made me feel like I was doing this whole healthy thing right. It gave me validation for all my hard work and proved that I was successful. It was nice to see that I could run more miles this month than compared to two months ago. It felt good that my waist size stayed the same week after week. While my addiction to these “new” set of numbers didn’t play with my emotions as much as the old ones, it was still an unhealthy relationship. And my whole goal was to be healthier, not just physically but mentally as well. My reliance on numbers was holding me back from being wholly healthy.

I am not going to say that I have totally done away with numbers, I still track how many miles I run, but I try not to let those numbers define or validate me. I don’t think that tracking numbers, in whatever form, is necessarily a bad thing. If you’re just starting out, numbers can be a helpful way to keep you on track or show progress. I just caution you to make sure that those numbers don’t become your whole world. When you spend all your time focusing on numbers you miss out on other important aspects of your health. As cheesy as it may sound, YOU are not a number. You and your health are so much more. You are a person who has so many other things that define who you are than a number on a scale or number of calories you eat. Think of it this way, when you introduce yourself do you say, “Hi. My name is Katie, I run 40 miles a week, eat 1500 calories a day, and do yoga at least 20 minutes a day.” No, because that is kind of ridiculous and I’m pretty sure most people aren’t really interested in any of those numbers. Don’t put all your worth into an arbitrary number. Work to feel good about yourself as a whole and remember that health is not just a numbers game.