Brian - Admin - Page 121

Chocolate Coconut Smoothie

stock photo

Approximately ¾ cup dates or raisins soaked in 1 cup water
2 tablespoon organic golden flax seeds
1 tablespoon shredded or flaked coconut
1 teaspoon organic cocoa powder
1 – 2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract, (opt)
1 teaspoon organic whole sugar, or to taste
1 chopped pear
1-2 frozen chopped bananas
Ice cubes, as needed

Soak first 3 ingredients from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. Blend and slowly in a blender add other ingredients. Blend well. You can top this with raw cacao nibs or add other seeds/nuts as desired.

Recipe submitted by Kathy, Portland, OR

Submit your recipe here!

Quick Yummy Holiday Yams

4 lbs. yams
1/3 cup maple syrup (grade B, organic)
2 juicy navel oranges
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil
large pinch cardamom or to taste

Rinse yams, trim ends and any bad parts but do not peel otherwise. Cut into 1/3 inch slices.

Steam yams in hot filtered water for about 15 minutes in a covered pot. Remove from heat and remove lid; let cool a couple of minutes. Drain; reserving about 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.

Place yams back into cooking pot and add reserved liquid and maple syrup. Zest oranges, adding about 1 teaspoon of zest to yams. Juice oranges over yams and with a spoon dig out any orange pulp and add as well. Stir in coconut oil. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes, just until oil melts.

Raise heat to high and cook for about 2 minutes longer, stirring gently until liquid evaporates. Add cardamom, stir gently.

Recipe submitted by Simi, Los Angeles, CA

Submit your recipe here!

Gluten-Free Cheesecake

stock photo

Crust Ingredients:

¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup sorghum flour
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup shredded coconut
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup honey (or less with a dash of Stevia)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Blend the first four ingredients together in a blender or food processer to the consistency of graham cracker crumbs. Heat the coconut oil in a medium sized saucepan until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the blended dry ingredients until moistened. Press the crust mixture into the bottom of a cheesecake or pie pan. (The recipe can be doubled to fit a 9×13 pan.) For a no-bake cheesecake or pie, bake the crust in the oven for approximately 10 minutes. Cool and fill with cheesecake or pie filling. For a baked cheesecake, (below) proceed by combining the following ingredients, or your own cheesecake recipe.

Filling:

3 (8oz.) boxes of cream cheese
½ cup honey (or less, plus a dash of Stevia)
1 – 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup lemon juice
1 large egg

Blend the above ingredients until smooth with a hand mixer. Pour into the unbaked crust and spread evenly. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until puffed up and starting to lightly brown. Towards the end of baking, if it begins to get too brown before firming up in the middle, turn oven down to 300 degrees and bake until the middle is (or almost) solid.

For an optional fruit topping, heat one 10 oz. package of frozen fruit – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or cherries, in a small saucepan until hot. There should be approximately ½ cup of juice in the fruit, if not, add some water. Add honey/stevia to taste. In a small cup, mix 2 tablespoons of arrowroot, corn starch, or kuzu root starch with 1-2 tablespoons of water and blend. Add this mixture to the HOT fruit, and stir until thickened. Spread the fruit mix over the cheesecake.

Refrigerate cheesecake for at least an hour, until cold and ready to serve.

Recipe submitted by Deborah, Shirley, IN

Submit your recipe here!

Oat Cakes

This is a little bit different way to have your morning oatmeal… takes more time, but I think it’s definitely worth it!

1 cup rolled oats
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil-divided
1/4 cup boiling water

For Topping:

maple syrup
bananas, cooked in coconut oil

Chop oats into a course meal in blender or food processor. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add baking soda.

Melt (if needed) 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and pour into the oatmeal; mix well. Slowly pour in the boiling water stirring constantly and scraping the sides of the bowl until a sticky batter develops. Let rest 3 minutes.

Meanwhile heat remaining oil in skillet. Drop 6 spoonfuls of batter into pan. Pat down until 1/4 inch thick and cook over low medium heat until crisp & golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Turn cakes over and repeat.

Cakes can be topped with maple syrup alone, BUT I like to thickly slice bananas and fry them in coconut oil over low heat then top the oat cakes with the bananas and some maple syrup.YUM.

Recipe submitted by Tierra, Denver, CO

Submit your recipe here!

Cilantro Coconut Pesto

stock photo

This is a great ‘base’ recipe. You may add other things to it each time you make it, for a change, like green or black olives, sun dried tomato, jarred artichoke hearts, etc. You can even add a tablespoon of coconut cream concentrate for an extra coconutty flavor. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy!

1 cup fresh organic cilantro leaves- packed well into measuring cup
1 large clove garlic
6 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or 3 coconut oil and 3 olive oil)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup raw almonds or walnuts (or other nut of your choice- organic if possible)
salt & pepper, optional

Place cilantro and garlic in food processor and process until well chopped. Add coconut oil and process a few seconds until mixture is well blended and fairly smooth. Add nuts and lemon juice and process until fairly smooth and well blended. Also, if it is too thick for your liking – add small amounts of water until you are happy with it.

I do not add salt- it does not need it- but you may add salt and pepper to taste if you wish. You may double this recipe and divide into two containers – it freezes well and is handy to have to flavor almost anything.

Recipe submitted by Donna, Castleton, NY

Submit your recipe here!

Easy Energy Bars

example photo shown

4 ripe organic bananas
3 cups organic rolled oats, not quick
2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup coconut flakes or shredded
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Mash bananas well in mixer then add all other ingredients and blend well.

Place dough on a 12×16 inch jellyroll pan that’s been greased generously with coconut oil. Pat out the dough into a rectangle about 1/3″ thick.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 18 ? 20 minutes. Cool on rack 15 minutes then cut in bars. Store in air-tight container and refrigerate.

Note: Before or after baking you may brush or drizzle a generous amount of melted coconut oil on top of the bars for an extra energy boost.

Recipe submitted by Sandra, New Port Richey, FL

Submit your recipe here!

Zucchini Pancakes (Gluten-free)

stock photo

1 medium stalk zucchini, ends removed and coarsely grated
2 eggs
2-3 tablespoons virgin or expeller pressed coconut oil
1 teaspoon red onion, chopped
freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons asiago cheese, grated (or to taste)
2-3 fresh basil leaves, minced
1 teaspoon coconut flour
Himalayan salt, to taste

Grate zucchini into a bowl. Add eggs and mix thoroughly.

Start heating oil in a large skillet.

Add onion, black pepper, asiago cheese and basil to the zucchini. If the batter looks too liquidly, add a bit of coconut flour just to thicken slightly.

When the oil is hot but not smoking, put a forkful of batter into the pan, immediately mashing it down with a fork to spread the batter and form thin pancakes that can crisp easily. Repeat till pan is full. It’s OK if the pancakes run together.

When the pancakes are golden brown or deeper brown on the underside, flip them over and cook on the second side. If they have stuck together, cut them in the skillet and flip them individually. When golden brown on the second side, remove pancakes. Drain on paper towels.

I like to add salt at the table rather than in the batter.

Recipe submitted by Simi, Los Angeles, CA

Submit your recipe here!