Fresh and Free Orange Julius

One of my favorite desserts my mom would make my sister and I when we were younger was her famous Orange Julius's. They were creamy and scrumptious! She would use creamy vanilla ice cream and can of frozen orange juice! Put a little whipped cream on the top, throw in a little love, and it was an amazing treat!!!

But now that I am health conscience and food seems to stick to my thighs and belly a little more than when I was younger, I opt to skip the Orange Julius frozen treats. TOTAL BUMMER! But by combining some fresh ingredients I can still get that same great flavor an Orange Julius brings to the table.




FRESH AND FREE ORANGE JULIUS

Ingredients:

1 Medium Seedless Orange- Peeled
1 Frozen Banana - Peeled
1 Cup Dairy Free Vanilla Milk- Soy or Almond
          Or Plain Dairy Free Milk with 1 TBLS Vanilla Extract
Zest from the Orange
1 Packet Stevia
Optional: 1 Scoop Protein Powder Mix
Optional: 1/2 Cup Ice for more of an icey frozen drink


Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender or high powered drink mixer and combine until smooth and creamy

Pour into a cup and consume!!

Green Eggs and Ham

Do you like Green Eggs and Ham?

I Do. I Do Like Green Eggs and Ham. And so does my little guy! He loved these Green Eggs and Ham so much he had them for lunch and wanted them again for dinner.

IN HONOR OF DR. SEUSS'S BIRTHDAY AND 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY, I FIGURED SOME GREEN EGGS WERE DEFINITELY IN STORE FOR US THIS WEEK.

I made 2 versions of Green Eggs and Ham. The first is for the Egg, Dairy, and Meat eaters. And the second recipe is my Vegan version. I find this typical, having to make two versions of many recipes in a house divided.


GREEN EGGS AND HAM SANDWICH
FLEXITARIAN VERSION
2 Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS

2 Eggs
2 Tbls Unsweetened Almond/Soy/Skim Milk
1 Cup Spinach
1/4 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste
4 Slices Whole Grain Toast
6 Slices of Sliced Ham or Turkey (Make sure your lunch meat is Nitrate Free and Additive Free)
1 Tbls Mayo- Optional
Additional Topping Ideas: Lettuce and Tomato





DIRECTIONS

1. In a blender mix eggs, milk, spinach, cheese, and salt and pepper in a blender and mix to a smooth           consistency

2. Heat a PAM spayed skillet on medium high heat

    Pour mixture in an begin to scramble your eggs by continously stirring.

3. Spread Mayo on Toasted Bread.

    Top with ham and eggs.

__________________________________________________________________________________


MOCK GREEN EGGS SANDWICH
VEGAN VERSION
2 SANDWICHES


INGREDIENTS

4 oz Extra Firm Tofu
1 Cup Spinach
3 Tbls Unsweetened Almond/Soy Milk
3 Tbls Nutritional Yeast
Salt and Pepper to Taste
4 Slices Whole Grain Toast
1 Tbls Vegan Mayo -Optional
Additional Topping Ideas: Lettuce, Tomato, Vegan Bacon Slices (Smart Bacon)

DIRECTIONS


In a food processor mix spinach, milk, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper.

Spritz a little olive oil on a skillet and heat to medium high heat.

Break up tofu with your fingers until in becomes crumbled and place in skillet.
Brown tofu for about 5 minutes; stirring often.
Pour spinach mixture over tofu and continuously stir to coat.
Cook for about 5 more minutes.

Spread Mayo to Toast
Top with Tofu


Try with a little Sriracha Sauce on top for a nice kick!

Breakfast Cereal Pudding

This is a nice change up from my everyday oatmeal.

Make this recipe your own! I have written this recipe pretty broad and given ideas so you can incorporate your own favorite flavors.

Breakfast Cereal Pudding

Ingredients:
1 Cup Whole Grain Cereal-Use your favorite HEALTHY Version
                          Examples: Bran Flakes, Shredded Wheat, Kashi
3/4 Cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup Favorite Fruit- Frozen or Fresh

Mix and Match Optional Add Ins:

             1 packet Stevia/Honey/Maple Syrup/Agave

             1 scoop Protein Powder- ADD 1/4 cup extra milk if including powder
             1 tsp Flaxseeds, Sunflower Seeds, or Pumpkin Seeds
             1 Tbls Nut Butter
             1 Tbls Apple Sauce/Pumpkin Puree/Avocado
             1 tsp Cocoa Powder/Cinnamon/Pumpkin Spice
             1/2 Tsp Bee Pollen

Directions:

Add all the ingredients to a drink mixer and blend well.

Pour mixture to a bowl and place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken. The longer you leave in the fridge the thicker it will get.

 

Pictured Recipe

1 cup 365 Organic Bran Flakes
1 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Frozen Mixed Berries
1 Scoop Protein Powder
1/2 tsp Bee Pollen
Topped with 1 Tbls Mixed Berry Compote
http://yummylovescompany.blogspot.com/2012/02/yogurt-cheese-with-berry-compote.html


Enjoy making your own creation!

Gimmie Some LOVE ...Breakfast Oatmeal Pudding

Kids and puppies bring out the love in me. I just can't stop kissing either one of them because they are just so cute. And both kids and puppies abilities to share their love is amazing. They are truely loving creatures. My child is always expressing to me how much he loves me and smothering me with hugs and kisses. My only wish is that it will last forever because receiving his love is so wonderful. A mother can only hope that at 16 he still wants to smother her with hugs and kisses..ha ha ha ha!!!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Breakfast Pudding

This will need to set in the fridge for about an hour or best made the night before.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats-Dry

1/2 Cup Milk Preference -Cow, Soy, Almond, Rice, Hemp....so many options!

1 TBLS Cocoa Powder

1 Packet Stevia

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 Strawberries--Fresh or Frozen

1 TBLS Ground Flaxseeds or Chia Seeds--Optional

Directions:

Prepare Oats:

In a sauce pan boil one cup of water.

Add oats and reduce heat to low.

Cook 5-10 minutes

After oats have been cooked add all ingredients to a drink mixer or blender.

Transfer to a container and place in the fridge for at least one hour.

The mixture will begin to thicken once cooled.

Nut'n but LOVE Baby...Grilled Strawberry and Nutella

We've got nothing but love for you in this sandwich. It's warm, it's chocolate-ly, and it has strawberries. It has my attention!

Nut'n But LOVE Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 Slices of Whole Grain Bread

1 Tbls of Nutella or Chocolate Peanut Butter

3 Fresh Strawberries sliced in thin slices

1/2 tsp of butter

*To make this a vegan option use Chocolate Peanut Butter and Vegan Butter

Directions:

Butter one slice of bread and spread Nutella on the other side

Lay one slice of bread butter side down on a medium heat skillet and lay strawberries out.

Lay the second slice of bread Nutella side down and grill to your liking.

Enjoy! ~ K      

LOVELY Parfait

This is part of our LOVE recipes week.

This Parfait is so pretty, it makes dipping your spoon in it even more enjoyable!

Raspberry Parfait

Ingredients:

1 Cup Bran Cereal--Divided in half
*6 oz Vanilla Greek Yogurt--Divided in half
1 tsp Cocoa Powder
1/2 Raspberries-can use thawed frozen raspberries---Divided in half

*I prefer to use plain greek yogurt and make my own vanilla flavored yogurt
        1 packet of Stevia
        1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Stir ingredients in plain yogurt and Voila --Sugar Free Vanilla Greek Yogurt!


Directions:

Separate the Vanilla Yogurt in 2 small bowls. Mix one of the yogurt bowls with cocoa powder and stir well.

In a glass or bowl layer:
       1/2 cup Bran Cereal
       Chocolate Yogurt
       1/4 cup Raspberries
       1/2 cup Bran Cereal
       Vanilla Yogurt
       1/4 Cup Raspberries

Now enjoy yourself a high in fiber and high in protein breakfast!!
      

Strawberries N' Cream Oatmeal

Mmmmm.... Yummy! Strawberry Oatmeal!!!

Valentine's Day and sharing love always involves strawberries for some reason. I don't know if it is because they resemble hearts or because they are just so tasty dipped in chocolate and....umm...maybe I should google that!

So to share another LOVE filled recipe, I present strawberries and cream oatmeal which is just so darn good.


Strawberries N' Cream Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 Cup Water
1/4 Strawberries-- Can use frozen
1/4 Cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt

Directions:

In a small saucepan bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add in oats and strawberries.
Cook for about 5-10 minutes till oats become soft.
Transfer oats to a bowl and top with Yogurt.

Enjoy a loving breakfast!

LOVE Potion Smoothie

              Love Potion #9
















Yogi's are always trying to express love and be open to love in there lives. So Valentine's Day is the perfect Yogi day. And since I am a Yogini I am finding it fun to express love in my food.

A great way to start off your day is by having a nutrition packed smoothie. And this smoothie packs nothing but LOVE!


Love Potion Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 Cup Milk -your preference-- Unsweetened Almond/Unsweetened Soy/or Skim Milk
1-2 Scoops Unsweetened Protein Powder- Try to stick with Unsweetened...you don't need all that sugar in the morning--Try to get your sugar from natural resources
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Cocoa Powder
1-2 Pitted Dates or 1 Tbls of Raisins
1/4 Cup Frozen Mixed Berries

If you find you want more creaminess to your smoothie add 1/2 of a banana or 1/4 of an avocado
Don't be scared by the avocado. The taste will not overtake your smoothie. But it will provide a nice creaminess and powerful nutrients to your breakfast.

The dates/raisins and berries provide the sweetness to the smoothie, but if you find you need more sweetness, try adding 1 packet or 1-2 drops of Stevia

Blend all ingredients in a blender and then begin to receive the love baby!!

Gluten-Free Hazelnut Bread

 

Happy December! As the Holiday's are arriving so are my finals. I have two more days left and I am finished for five weeks. I've been living on Thanksgiving leftovers and lentil soup. My days have consisted with late nights staring at the computer screen, but it will be done soon. I can't wait to spend my winter break brainstorming new recipes to share. 

As for my gluten-free hazelnut bread recipe. The picture doesn't look pleasant, but the taste is very good. You can add cranberries into the mix and serve at a party. Hope you enjoy the recipe! 

~D

Gluten-Free Hazelnut Bread

1 Cup hazelnuts
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 Cup Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Almond Milk or any milk you wish to use.
1 Tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1/2 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pre-Heat oven 350F. Spread the hazelnuts on large rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes. Rub the warm nuts in a clean dish towel to remove the skins; coarsely chop.
  Flour 81/2-by-41/2 inch loaf pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, milk, orange zest, and vanilla, add to the flour mixture and mix until just combined. (Do not over mix.) Fold in the hazelnuts.
  Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Rice Pudding

Oh my, this recipe says fall all over it! It also reminds me of my childhood when my mom would make rice pudding and she would always say as she was pulling it out of the oven, "this reminds me of my childhood when your grandma would make this"! I wonder if my grandma would say that to her while she was pulling her pudding out of the oven. So Grandma and Mom this recipe is for you!

I love that the recipe develops it's sweetness from the apples and raisins, therefore making the recipe SUGAR FREE! The recipe is also dairy-free as well, making it the perfect Vegan Rice Pudding.

Ingredients:

2 Cups non-dairy milk--I used Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
1 Cup uncooked Short Grain Brown Rice
3 1/2 Cups of water for cooking rice
1/4 Cup Pecans
1/2 Cup Raisins
1/2 Cup Ground Flaxseed
1 TBLS Vanilla Extract
1.5 TBLS Cinnamon
1 tsp Cardamom-Optional
2 Apples-use your favorite apple- I used Honey Crisp

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
Cook Rice in 3 1/2 cups of boiling water till water is absorbed and rice is soft

While the rice is cooking peel and cut apples into slices-place in a food processor and chop to small pieces-Be careful not to puree

Place chopped apples and remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

When the rice is done cooking add to the bowl and mix well.
Pour into a sprayed 9x9 baking dish, sprinkle with a little cinnamon, and then cover.

Bake for 1 hour.

Let Pudding cool for 10 minutes and serve
Pour cold milk over warm pudding and envelope yourself in a long time traditional fall treat! This makes for a great breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Happy Fall!

I love fall so much! It is my favorite season of all. The weather is comfortable, the scenery is so beautiful, the harvest is in full swing with grapes, pumpkins, & apples, Starbucks has brought backs its Pumpkin Spice Latte', you can pull out that favorite sweater, and the feel of family and comfort is in the air. Oh, and we can't forget Halloween. My son is loving Halloween this year, so it is making for a fun experience.

Almond Pumpkin Butter Spread


So easy; So yummy; So good for you!

This recipe is a single serving recipe. I love to top this on a rice cake or even a bagel would be amazing...maybe an apple cinnamon. mmmmm!


2 TBLS of Pumpkin Puree
1 TBLS Almond Butter
Sweetener- I use one packet of Stevia--If you don't like Stevia add 1 tsp of maple syrup

Mix together and enjoy!

This second recipe is for all you pumpkin pie lovers.
I am a toast and rice cake eater, so I always love new ways to spruce it up.
Also, try mixing this with your morning oatmeal!

Pumpkin Pie Spread

1 Serving

2 TBLS of Pumpkin Puree

1 TBLS Nut Butter

*Sweetener- Stevia or 1 tsp Maple Syrup

1 tsp Cinnamon

Pinch of Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix together and top on whatever your heart desires.

Happy Fall Everyone!

~K

French Toast Sticks

Even if you are not a vegan you should definitely give these a try! The eggs in these french toast sticks are replaced with flaxseed. By doing this you eliminate the cholesterol that eggs contain and gain omega-3's.

Vegan French Toast Sticks

3 Slices of Whole Grain Bread
1/2 Cup Soy or Almond Milk
1 TBLS Flaxseed
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
pinch Nutmeg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

* If you want to try something fun and make your french toast sticks even better--add 1/2 tsp of Cocoa Powder with your mixture.

Directions:

Preheat grittle on medium high heat

Cut bread in 1/3 or 1/2 slices depending on the size of your bread

Whisk together non-dairy milk, flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg, & vanilla

Dip both sides of the bread sticks into mixture and place on grittle
Cook until brown on both sides

Top with butter and maple syrup and then Enjoy!
Or try with my peanut butter banana spread or pumpkin butter spread as a french toast sandwich!

~K

The Perfect Carrot Cake Pancake

This is a super yummy fall morning pancake that definitely deserves some company!!

Serve these scrumptious hot cakes with Maple Syrup on top.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 Cup Organic Buttermilk Pancake Mix

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

2 heaping Tbls Ground Flaxseed

1 Cup of Almond/Soy Milk

1/4 Cup Natural Unsweetened Applesauce

1/4 Cup Crushed Pineapple-well drained

3/4 Cup Shredded Carrots

Handful of Raisins

1/4 Cup Pecans

Bee Pollen--optional

PREPARE:

Combine Pancake Mix, Cinnamon, and Bee Pollen-if using, and ground flaxseed

Stir in Milk, Applesauce, Pineapple, and Carrots
Fold in Raisins and Pecans


Heat griddle on medium high
Makes 8 Pancakes

Make your own Nut Milk

 

For awhile now I have been making my own nut milk. Once you make your own you will never go back to store bought milk. The taste of the milk is so rich and no processed ingredients are added. The process is very simple. I normally have three batches in my refrigerator.

I have been following Sarah Britton's blog called My New Roots. She did a wonderful tutorial showing how to make nut milk. Follow this link My New Roots to start making your own nut milk! Also, I will be posting another entry about the left over pulp from the nut milk. The recipe is delicious. So come back to see what is new on Yummy Loves Company. 


Much love!

~D

The Perfect Pancake

The Perfect Pancake PB Sandwich...also perfect for my lil' pirate

I absolutely love these pancakes! Not only does my picky eater son love them as well, but they are loaded with nutritious ingredients that will get your day off to a great start.
You are getting your omega-3 fatty acids from the flax seed, calcium from your almond milk, protein from the peanut butter, and antioxidants from the blueberries. And if you choose to use the bee pollen you are adding an amazing superfood which supplies your essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Now that is a perfect pancake! I make a batch at the beginning of the week and then freeze them. Then in the morning I pull one out and either make a peanut butter pancake sandwich or drizzle maple syrup or honey on top.
Enjoy! K

Ingredients:
1 cup Organic Buttermilk Pancake Mix
2 heaping Tbls Ground Flax Seed
1 Tbls Bee Pollen--optional--Note: Don't use the Bee Pollen if you have pollen allergies. And start in low dosed and work your way into it. And don't use if you are pregnant or breast feeding.
1.5 cup Almond/Soy Milk
1 Tbls Vanilla
1 Tbls Creamy Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Blueberries--frozen or fresh


Prepare:
Combine pancake mix, flax seed, and bee pollen in a medium bowl.
Add milk, vanilla, & peanut butter to mixture and stir
Fold in blueberries

Heat griddle on medium high
Makes 8 pancakes