Tag Archives: Real Food

Easy Compounded Fresh Basil Garlic Butter

Basil is an amazing herb. It is like sunshine in a plant, the flavor of it is beautiful and mild enough to eat the leaves tossed in a salad. It is my favorite fresh herb. I have a very large plant that keeps giving and giving, and it is more difficult to find after summer in large bunches. You can’t do a whole lot with a little plastic container that you find at the grocery store. I start craving fresh basil mid-winter after the crunchy autumn maple and oak leaves are covered by white snow, and my fresh basil has long been killed by frost. Up here in Northern Michigan that is about January.

I like to go to my local food coop to find large bunches when it’s too cold to grow it outdoors myself so I can make and freeze pesto. I also have grown it indoors in the wintertime with an Aerogarden Hydroponic System that is tabletop sized. This year, I have been making a compound butter with my fresh basil and freezing it into tablespoon sized cubes to keep the fresh basil flavors going in my kitchen long after Summer is gone.

Here is my easy and incredibly delicious recipe to add pops of flavor to vegetables, proteins like steak, eggs, and meatballs, pasta, and breads. I like to use this butter 50/50 with a drizzle of olive oil and a pat of this compounded butter over steamed vegetables. Try it with steamed Brussels sprouts! It’s delicious. For even more salty savory flavor, grate some fresh Parmesan over them too. Top a steak cooked on a Blackstone grill with this butter for a restaurant quality T-Bone or New York Strip. A cast iron pan stove top to oven works well also. I also like to use it for spiralized zoodles, and add it to halved baked squash fresh from the oven with a drizzle of honey. It’s excellent on beets, broccoli, carrots and potatoes. Here is my recipe:

Easy Compounded Fresh Basil Garlic Butter

2 Cups of Fresh Basil Leaves

1 Pound of high fat butter like Plugra or Kerrygold (cubed) You can use salted or unsalted.

2 Tablespoons of Garlic Infused Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon of Salt

In a food processor, add the fresh basil leaves and pulse until they are finely chopped. When the basil has been finely chopped, add in the remaining ingredients, and pulse in your food processor until it is blended and incorporated. You will have to stop the processor and scrape down the sides a couple of times. Lay out a parchment lined baking sheet and scrape your compounded basil garlic butter onto the sheet. Using an offset spatula, form the butter into a square block, and place it in the freezer overnight. The next day lay the frozen butter onto a cutting board and cut into 32 squares. Place your butter pats into a zipped freezer bag or sealed container, and keep them in the freezer. Use as needed!

Basil Garlic Compounded Butter on Gluten Free Bread Ready to Broil

Let me know how you like to use this butter. I’d also love to hear what your favorite fresh herb is and how you use it.

Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce: A Versatile and Delicious Recipe

Hello! Can you believe how fast Summer went by? We still have plenty of gorgeous weather coming our way in September, and my tomato plants are producing like they are on steroids. I made the most delicious spaghetti sauce with them, and I wanted to share the recipe, because it is incredibly delicious, and a great way to take advantage of all the benefits tomatoes offer and use the bounty of fresh tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes are delicious, but when you are growing them, they are quite a bit like zucchini in their abundance when they start ripening. I don’t like to waste food, and the tomatoes need a good recipe. Now I’m a girl who loves a yummy sauce not just for pasta and spaghetti, this sauce is so good over vegetables, lentils, polenta, zoodles, and more. I have two options for you too. You can make it meatless, or as a last step in the recipe, you can add ground pork, sausage, beef, chicken or turkey.

Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce: A Versatile and Delicious Recipe

In this recipe I removed the skins from the tomatoes, but left the seeds. I have a variety of tomatoes, and you use what you have. If you don’t grow your own garden, you can get fresh tomatoes at a local farmers market and produce stands. Trust me, it’s worth it.

I’d love to hear what fresh produce you have enjoyed most over the last few months in the comments. It has been a very busy season here, and the Summer was wonderful and fleeting. I tried to soak up as much outdoor activities and sunshine as possible. My son got married in August, and I had the pleasure of being in the company of my grandchildren quite a bit while they were off school. This included taking my granddaughter to swim lessons at the lake two days a week in the mornings. and taking all three of them boating and swimming. We’ve had lots of beach time and backyard BBQ’s, and I’m not quite ready to give it up! I will also be sharing this month another new recipe for a compounded butter using fresh basil that is a smart time saver that bumps up the zing factor. It is freezable into tablespoon pats! A delicious flavor boost!

So, enough gabbing, here is my recipe for Spaghetti Sauce using fresh tomatoes! But first here’s a photo of the sauce adding a combination of ground pork and beef. The hands on time for this sauce is about 45 minutes. It simmers for a few hours, and you just need to stir it a few times.

Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce: A Versatile and Delicious Recipe

Spaghetti Sauce Using Fresh Tomatoes

Ingredients:

3 Pounds of Fresh Tomatoes

5 Cloves of Garlic (Peeled and Smashed) Low FodMap Option substitute 3 Tablespoons of Garlic Infused Olive Oil)

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (if you are making Low FodMap, this would be part of the garlic oil above.)

8 Ounces of Tomato Paste (I like this organic brand.)

4 Cups of Water

1 Tablespoon of Dried Parsley

1 Tablespoon of Dried Oregano

1 Teaspoon of Dried Basil

1 Bay Leaf

2 Teaspoons of Salt of Choice (I used Himalayan Pink Salt here. I like that you get trace minerals in this salt)

Ground Pepper to taste.

To begin this recipe we need peeled tomatoes. It is very easy to do with a pot of boiling water. The skins slip right off after plunging them in the water for 3 minutes. Bring a large stock pot up to a rolling boil. Add a tablespoon of salt. Now, carefully add half of your tomatoes into the boiling water and set a timer for 3 minutes (Alexa is my best friend). After the time is up, remove the tomatoes to a bowl with a mesh strainer and cool slightly. Meanwhile, add the remaining tomatoes to the boiling pot and set a timer. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, slip off the skins using a knife when necessary for the little bits that stick and remove the core. Slice the tomatoes in half. There is not a lot of chopping here. They will deconstruct with the cooking….easy! After all the tomatoes are peeled and halved. Prepare a large saucepan (I love my Martha Stewart Red Dutch Oven. It is heavy and built for a long simmer.)

Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven, and turn the burner on medium high. Peel and smash your garlic cloves. Leave them whole. They will infuse the sauce as it simmers. Add them to the just hot oil and cook until they are fragrant, about one minute. Now, add in your prepared tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients, including the tomato paste and 4 cups of water. Bring the sauce to a boil, then turn it to a low simmer and simmer uncovered for 2 to 3 1/2 hours. When the sauce is getting to be a nice thick consistency, it is ready. Taste it for salt and pepper. If you want to add ground meat, now is the time to saute your meat of choice and add it to the sauce. It is ready to serve over anything you want. It is so delicious! Enjoy. It’s a very good thing!

Crustless Quiche Florentine (Spinach Quiche)

Ahhhhh! Spring has arrived in Northern Michigan! or has it? That is always the big question Up North. But oh the beauty of it when it does. Spring up here is fickle. We had glorious days last week with the daffodils blooming and the sunshine so warm on your skin. The weather was nice enough for a picnic outside, and I actually put out my repurposed, hand painted ladder back chair I am using this summer for garden decor with a pot of daffodils. Later I will replace them with petunias. See photo down below. But the snow this morning! It was just a skiff and will be melted by noon.

Nice weather always makes me crave a good quiche! This is a new recipe I have written for Quiche Florentine. It is so light and fluffy, and it popped up in the oven and browned beautifully. I used baby spinach and a good aged cheddar with plenty of pastured local eggs. It is delicious, and I am so glad there is a piece left for me for lunch today!

Crustless Quiche Florentine (SCD, Low FodMap, Grain Free)

Crustless Quiche Lorraine

Preheat your oven to 375 Degrees F.

Ingredients:

10 Ounces of Baby Spinach, sauteed in olive oil and sprinkled in salt

12 Pastured Eggs

4 oz. of aged cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 Cup of Coconut Milk

2 Teaspoons of Dried Chives

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

1/4 Teaspoon of Pepper

a pinch of Nutmeg

Directions: Grease a deep dish pie pan.

Sautee the spinach in a separate pan with a tablespoon of garlic olive oil, set aside.

Whisk the eggs with the coconut milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and chives. Fold in the cheese. Pour the egg mixture into your prepared deep dish pie pan. Now, take the cooked spinach and using tongs, place it artfully on top of the egg mixture. Place the pan in your preheated 375 degree F. oven for 40 minutes on the middle shelf until the eggs are set and the top is puffed up. The casserole should register 165 degrees F. in the center. Cool ten minutes before slicing.

Let me show you it sliced!

Crustless Quiche Florentine

The quiche is SCD Legal, Gluten Free, Grain Free and just delicious, real food ingredients.

This is the chair I repurposed for my garden this summer. What do you think? I found it at a consignment shop where I live and had a hole cut in the base and then primed and painted it in whimsical colors with flowers. We get quite a bit of foot traffic by our house in the spring and summer, so I thought it would be enjoyed by the passerby.

Repurposed Garden Decor Chair

At the end of a long, productive day, I like to take a little me time to unwind, and one of my favorite ways to do that is by reading a good book. I recently discovered Viola Shipmen! I was browsing a local bookstore and found a signed copy of The Heirloom Garden. Oh my gosh! Don’t you get so excited when you find an undiscovered to you new author whose books thoroughly suck you in with strong female characters? Now I am reading The Summer Cottage by Viola Shipmen and have more to look forward to after that, with a new one coming out this Summer.

I find a great way for winding down is a good book and a soak in the tub. I’m using Lemongrass Spa’s new Rejuvenate Bath Soak, the luscious Lemon Sorbet body polish and Cactus & Guava body wash. Lots of lovely aromatherapy! 😃

Good Books and Warm Baths

So how have you been doing? Leave me a comment below on your favorite Spring food. Here’s to a wonderful Spring!

Sandra

Healthy Chocolate Avocado Date Sweetened Pudding

There is not many who don’t like a sweet treat, but sugar can be very addicting and not good for our health. A whole foods diet rich in plants, healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds and good sources of protein is very beneficial to our bodies and promotes health. This chocolate pudding satisfies my sweet tooth, and I know it is good for me. It is guilt free, creamy and chocolatey! It is sweetened with whole dates which are a natural whole food, plant based sweetener that contains the health benefits of antioxidants and minerals, and has creamy avocado that is full of healthy PUFA’s…..the good fat, raw cocoa powder that is a great source of antioxidants and a mood elevator (good for winter blues!), coconut milk for a creamy non-dairy pudding. If you want a touch more sweetness, a little bit of pure monk fruit can be added, but less sweetness in desserts is an acquired taste, so if you already are eating less sugar, you may not need it.

Here is to the healthiest you in 2023. I wish you a healthy, happy, bountiful new year and will be sharing other health promoting recipes and tips throughout the coming year!

Healthy Chocolate Avocado Date Sweetened Pudding

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Ripe Avocado, cubed

1/2 Cup of Full Fat Coconut Milk

6 Medjool Dates soaked in hot water for five minutes to soften and then pitted, Joolies are my favorite!

1/4 Cup of Raw Cocoa Powder

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1/8 teaspoon of pure Monk Fruit I use this brand

a pinch of Sea Salt

Cocoa Nibs (optional)

Blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender until completely smooth. Spoon into 4 serving dishes, sprinkle with cocoa nibs and eat immediately or keep it in the refrigerator for up to two days. Enjoy!! I always love to hear from you!

Ranch Dressing SCD, Low FodMap, Dairy Free

If you are looking for a great ranch dressing that is low fodmap, SCD Friendly or dairy free, here you go!

Garlic is a fodmap and not allowed on a low fodmap diet, but garlic Infused oil is allowed, and it is a fantastic replacement. If you haven’t been using it yet, you need to grab some! Chives give the dressing the signature ranch flavor, along with dill, and chives are also low fodmap.

This can be used on and with anything you like to eat with ranch. Delish!

SCD, Low FodMap, Dairy Free Ranch Dressing

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Paleo mayonnaise, (I use Primal Kitchen)
  • 1/4 Cup of fresh lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Garlic Infused Olive Oil
  • 1 teaspoon of dried chives
  • 1 teaspoon of dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dried dill
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt to taste

Add all the ingredients into a bowl, whisk until fully incorporated and enjoy! Mmmmm! So good!

The Health Benefits of Sweet Cherries

Health Benefits of Sweet Cherries

The cherries are in season, so now is a good time to enjoy them, freeze them at their peak to enjoy all winter and to reap the health benefits of this delicious stone fruit!

 

Let’s talk about the benefits of sweet cherries!

 

Some of my favorite benefits of cherries are the compounds that help improve sleep naturally (they contain natural melatonin). If you want the benefit of better sleep, have a serving an hour before bedtime. 

 

Cherries also contain anti-inflammatory properties, and they inhibit oxidative stress. It is always a good idea to eat foods that decrease inflammation in our bodies that can lead to a variety of diseases and health problems, and oxidative stress leads to premature aging and puts you at a higher risk for cancer, neurodegenerative disease and diabetes.

 

The red color of the cherries is from Anthocyanins which are a class of antioxidants that research shows can benefit our bodies in several ways. Anthocyanins are anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-microbial and neuroprotective. Anthocyanins can rev up fat burning and decrease fat storage. The polyphenols in cherries are a boost to heart health and aid in exercise recovery.

 

As with any fruit, stick to reasonable serving sizes.

 

1 Cup of Sweet Cherries has 90 calories, 22 g of carbs and 17 grams of sugars.

 

Sweet Cherries are highly palatable and tasty just as they are. This stone fruit is a good source of vitamins, minerals and fiber, especially Vitamin C and Potassium. They are wonderful atop a salad, as a snack, chopped up and made into a salsa to go with a meal as a topping, in a breakfast bowl, in a homemade cherry bbq sauce, use them to make homemade popsicles or in broccoli salad. There are so many creative ways to use them as part of a healthy, well balanced diet and the benefits are worth your attention.

Photo by twinsfisch on Unsplash

Scrumptious Strawberry Mango Fruit Roll Ups

Fruit Roll Ups 4

Make some of these Scrumptious Strawberry, Mango fruit roll ups and store them in an airtight container for a quick, sweet and chewy, all natural snack.

Fruit Roll Ups 2

I make these in a food dehydrator and slice them into strips that are then rolled up in parchment paper and tied with a string. They are sweet and a little tart.

Fruit Rolls Ups 6

My kids love these packed in their lunches or as a grab and go snack. Clean and simple deliciousness!

Fruit Roll Up 1

Scrumptious Strawberry Mango Fruit Roll Ups

Ingredients:

2 Pints of Fresh Organic Strawberries

2 Ripe Mangoes

2 Tablespoons of Raw Honey

1 Tablespoon of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1 Tablespoon of Gelatin

2 Tablespoons of Hot Water

A Pinch of Sea Salt

Directions:

Clean and hull the strawberries and place them in a high speed blender. Clean, peel and pit the mangoes and add them to the blender with the strawberries. Add the honey, lemon juice and salt. Blend until pureed. Now you will add the gelatin. Heat 2 tablespoons of water in your microwave until very hot. Whisk in the gelatin until it is foamy. Pour this into the blender with the strawberry mango mixture and blend until smooth and incorporated.

Set out six dehydrator trays (my dehydrator is an Excalibur) and line them with non-stick drying sheets (like these). Pour the fruit roll up mixture evenly onto six sheets. Pick up the sheets and swirl by tipping them to spread then out into 8″ circles.

Dehydrate at 135° degrees for approximately 18 hours, or until they are no longer tacky in the center but not crispy. They should still be pliable.

Remove the fruit roll ups from the dehydrator and cool. After they are cool, using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, slice each roll up into strips. Cut parchment the same width as the fruit strips and roll them up with the parchment. Tie with a string. Place them in a sealed container and store at room temperature.

\Scrumptious Strawberry Mango Fruit Roll Ups

 

 

Kale Salad with Cranberries and Cashews

Cranberry Cashew Kale Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

This is a delicious salad any time of year, but it is particularly good, in my opinion, in Autumn! The crunch of the cashews, and the chewiness of the dried cranberries, along with the savory scallions and tangy mustard maple dressing is the perfect balance of sweet and zesty!

Kale Salad with Cranberries and Cashews

1 Bunch of Lacinato Kale (also known as dinosaur kale)

1/3 Cup of Dried Cranberries (fruit juice sweetened if available)

1/3 Cup of Raw Cashews

2 Scallions (thinly sliced)

1 Tablespoon of White Balsamic Vinegar

Mustard Maple Dressing:

1/4 Cup of Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon of White Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

1/4 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

1/8 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Directions:

Wash and strip the stems from the kale. Tear the kale leaves into bite sized pieces and add them to a medium salad bowl. Pour over 1 tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar and massage the kale leaves with your hands. The vinegar and massaging will help break down the fibers in the kale and make them tender, about three minutes will do.

Add in the cranberries, cashews and sliced scallions.

Whisk together the Dressing ingredients, and pour over the kale salad. Toss and serve!

Delicious Kale Salad with Cranberries, Cashews and a Maple Mustard Dressing. Gluten and Dairy Free

Beef Liver Pate

Is liver my favorite? No. But the benefits of grass fed liver cannot be ignored, and my favorite way to eat it is a pate, which is quite delicious. Those who try it unknowingly, for instance on a platter of cheese, crackers and dips, have been known to say “Mmmm! What is this?” Yes, it’s perfectly true!

I remember a similar experience with squash substituted for pumpkin in pie. When I was a child, we would play with our neighbors outdoors almost daily all Summer long. One of my friends swore up and down that he thought squash was disgusting and never to be touched with a ten foot pole! Until one day he tried My Mother’s “pumpkin” pie which she had made with winter squash from our garden. He said “Man, this is the best pumpkin pie I have ever had!” I couldn’t wait to tell him, with relish, that it was squash! Beef liver is a nutritional powerhouse packed with vitamins. It is a powerful superfood and has been included in traditional diets for thousands of years. Liver is the best source of B12. It is also high in active Vitamin A (retinol) that our bodies don’t have to convert like we do plant based Vitamin A (carotenoids). Liver is also high in Iron, B6, Folate, Biotin, and small amounts of copper, chromium and selenium.

I have flavored this pate with herbs, spices and aged balsamic. It is anything but plain. I used US Wellness Meats Grass Fed Beef Liver in this recipe. You can also find good grass fed beef liver locally at Farm Markets or from your local Farmer.

Beef Liver Pate

Beef Liver Pate

Ingredients: 1 lb. of Grass Fed Beef Liver, sliced

2 Cups of Chopped Red Onion

1/4 Cup of Aged Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon of Dried Rosemary

1 Tablespoon of Dried Marjoram

1 Tablespoon of Dried Thyme

1 Tablespoon of Turmeric Powder

1 Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

1/2 Teaspoon of Dried Lemon Peel

Directions: In 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil, Sautee the Beef Liver sprinkled with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt over medium high heat.  Cook on one side for five minutes, then flip the liver and cook on the other side until it is cooked through.

Remove the liver from the pan and set aside. Add the other tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and the chopped red onion. Cook until tender. Sprinkle the rosemary, marjoram, thyme, garlic powder, turmeric, and lemon peel over the onions. Then, cook, stirring until the herbs, spices and onions are fragrant. Add the apple cider vinegar to the pan and deglaze, scraping all the brown bits off the bottom. Add the 1/4 cup of aged balsamic and stir and cook for 30 seconds.

In a food processor, add the cooked liver and the onion mixture. Process until you have a smooth spread, being sure to scrape down the sides a few times. Put your pate in a pretty serving dish, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Before serving, add a pretty spring of fresh herbs to the top like parsley or basil.

Nutrient Dense Superfood, Beef Liver Pate

 

Blueberry Lemon FroYo

Blueberry Lemon FroYo

Fro Yo is one of Summer’s simple pleasures! It has the frozen sensation and creaminess of ice cream, but has the benefit of being healthier, with more protein and probiotics to promote good gut micro flora. Why not take it up a notch further by making your own healthier version with less sugar and more real food goodness like fruit, pure honey, cinnamon and fresh Greek yogurt which is packed with calcium and protein? Here is an easy and super delicious recipe! Feel free to mix up the fruit you use.

Lemon Blueberry Fro Yo, Gut Healthy, No Refined Sugar, Real Ingredients Frozen Yogurt

BLUEBERRY LEMON FROYO

Ingredients:

3 Cups of Greek Yogurt (24 Hour Homemade Yogurt for SCD)

3 Cups of Frozen Blueberries

1/4 Cup of Honey

2 Tablespoons of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1 Tablespoon of Pure Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

In a food processor, add all the ingredients and pulse, then blend until you have a smooth consistency with most of the blueberry smooth and creamy. Taste to make sure the sweetness is to your liking.

Place your FroYo base into an electric ice cream maker, and churn as directed on your machine. I used this one, and it took 30 minutes.

The FroYo is best eaten immediately, but you can freeze any leftovers in a sealed container, and let it thaw on your counter until soft enough to scoop.

Cookies and Fro Yo

You can find the recipe for the Cashew Lemon Cookies pictured here. 🙂

 

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