Red, White, And Blue Dessert

July 2, 2017 4th of July Picnics are all about the Red, White, and Blue.  The food is easy on the eyes, tastes great, but much of the menu is not too healthy.  Why not add a choice that is delicious, cold, refreshing, and nutritious? This easy and frugal dessert will cool you down on a hot summer day and bring out your patriotic spirit, too!  With the beautiful colors of our nation’s flag found in blueberries, strawberries, and coconut topping, fruit is always a hit! You may grow your own strawberries or blueberries, so you could have fresh ones to use.  Your local farmer’s market could also have them on hand.  In my recipe, I used frozen fruit, because frozen fruit makes the dessert turn into an ice-cream type texture.  With frozen fruit on hand, I’m always prepared for making a healthy snack, without ever wasting any.  The only ingredients are frozen berries and almond milk.  I’m sure you can use regular milk, coconut milk etc.  I’m dairy-free, so I prefer almond milk, and used unsweetened.    Using a food processor or strong blender, process the strawberries first, then add almond milk ( a little at a time) until the texture is creamy, like ice-cream.  Then, place the bowl in the freezer.   Rinse out the food processor and utensils.  Then, add the blueberries.  Process the blueberries and add a little almond milk.  The blueberries will need only a small amount of almond milk.  Then, add the blueberry mixture to the freezer.  Leave both berry mixture bowls in the freezer for about one hour. When frozen, scoop out blueberries, then strawberries, into serving dish.  Top with coconut (or whipped cream if desired).  If you like sweetener, you can add it into the food processor.  I try to eat the food fresh, but sometimes it can be a little tart. Enjoy sharing your Red, White, and Blue Dessert with those you love on this 4th of July holiday!  @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Tangy BBQ Sauce Recipe

July 2, 2017 Would you like to have a BBQ Sauce Recipe that you can count on to please everyone at the picnic?  I’m always happy to serve BBQ Chicken with this recipe, because I know that all the ingredients are real food. The ingredients are easy to find, and I keep them on hand on a regular basis: 1 Cup Ketchup 1/4 Cup water 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar 3 Tablespoons Oil 2 Tablespoons Paprika 1 Tablespoons Chili Powder 2 Cloves Garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder ( I use the powder) 1 teaspoon Cayenne (Or use less, if you don’t want so much heat)  I use 1/4 teaspoon Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl and you will have a thick sauce.  I pour this over 6 chicken breasts or 2 pounds of tenders.  Cook in a 350 degree oven for one hour.  After the chicken is tender, shred the meat and the sauce is the right amount to serve on buns.   For an easy, frugal picnic meal, try these yummy sides: Corn on the cob and zucchini grilled and a salad, fresh from the garden! Have a wonderful picnic!  I hope you’ll try my BBQ Sauce Recipe. @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Do you love recipes that are easy, cheap, and healthy?  This muffin recipe is frugal, sugar-free, and dairy-free.  It’s also delicious!  My entire family loves them and I make them year round. The ingredients for the muffins are staples that I almost always have on hand: 1 1/2 whole grain pastry flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 Cup almond milk 1 egg 3 Tablespoons honey 2 Tablespoons Dairy-free butter 2 Tablespoons applesauce 1/2 Cup pumpkin Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  I coat my muffin tins with coconut oil.   In large pan, stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In small bowl, stir together milk, egg, honey, butter, applesauce, and pumpkin. Combine wet and dry ingredients.  Pour into muffin cups. Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Toothpick should come out clean.  I hope you love these muffins as much as we do!  Feel free to substitute the pumpkin with bananas!  It works just as well. @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Viva Labs Ground Flaxseed Review

flax

Disclosure: Affiliate link included. Product received in order to review. If you’re going to add Flaxseeds to your diet, you’ll want to make sure that they are certified organic and non-GMO.  The best reasons to add Flaxseeds to your diet are to provide the following health benefits: ·       Flaxseeds can help to protect your heart.  Flaxseeds contain phenols, that have clinically been shown to boost your heart’s health and promote good cholesterol levels.  ·       Flaxseeds can help to improve your digestive health. I was offered a bag of Viva Labs Ground Flaxseeds to review.  Their crops are grown in Canada and are certified organic and non-GMO.  Their crops are not heated at all.  This is to preserve the omega-3. In order to review the product, I decided to use the Flaxseed in a couple of recipes and see how it tastes.  Here are the recipes that I used. West Coast Trail Cookies from Allrecipes.com You can use the recipe online, but I changed it quite a lot.  Here is my version. 1 1/2 Cup organic flour 1/3 Cup Viva Labs Ground Flaxseeds 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoons salt 1 Cup, softened Soy-free Earth Balance 1/2 Cup brown sugar 1 Cup organic Coconut Palm sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract  2 Cups oats 1 Cup chocolate chips 3/4 Cup shredded coconut 1/2 Cup chopped walnuts Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 2 cookie sheets.  You’ll want to start each batch on a cool pan. Whisk together flour, flax seed, soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat together Earth Balance, brown sugar, palm sugar in a bowl and then stir in eggs and vanilla.  Now, add flour mixture to that until just combined.  Fold oats, chocolate chips, coconut and nuts into dough just until evenly combined.   Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake about 8-10 min.  Transfer onto a wire rack to cool. These are absolutely delicious!!!! Another wonderful recipe: Oatmeal Bars Mr Food.com Here’s my version: 3/4 Cup Earth Balance Soy-free 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup 1 teaspoon Baking soda 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla 2 Cup Oats 1 Cup Organic flour 1 Cup organic Coconut Palm Sugar  1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Use Earth Balance to coat a 13x 9 inch baking dish.   Melt 3/4 C Earth Balance and syrup over low heat or in microwave. In a large bowl, stir together the Earth Balance mixture, baking soda and vanilla. Mix well. Add oats, flour, sugar, and chocolate chips.  Mix well.  Press all into the 13 x 9 pan.  Bake 12-18 minutes.  Cool.  Then, cut into bars. Oh, so yummy!!!! I look forward to adding Viva Labs Ground Flaxseed to many more recipes, such as breads and other baked goods.  The Flaxseeds were provided to me at no cost.  I was not compensated for my opinion, and my opinion in this review is 100% my own.  I highly recommend Viva Labs Ground Flaxseed, based on my enjoyment of eating it. @2016, copyright Lisa Ehrman

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