Coconut Milk Ice Pops

Vanilla Rocket Pop

Chocolate Star Pop

Clearly I am obsessed with ice pops. I love them. What I love most about them is making ones that are super tasty and good for you, too.
This recipe came from a dinner we had with friends. My friend, Michelle, came over with coconut based ice cream that she'd made in her ice cream maker. I swear, it was the best ice cream I have ever had in my life. We were all licking our bowls. All I could think of was how to translate that into an ice pop.
That is how these coconut ice pops were born. They can be vanilla, chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, cantaloupe or any other flavor that strikes your fancy.

You will need:
1 can of coconut milk
3 tablespoons of REAL maple syrup. Not the fake stuff that is just rice syrup with maple flavoring
a dash of salt -Pink Himalaya Salt is preferred but Sea Salt is fine.
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

This is your base.

To make the chocolate version, add 1 teaspoon of raw cacoa powder.
For any of the fruits, add about a 1/2 cup and blend together in a blender.
Pour into your ice pop molds and pop them in the freezer. It takes about 6 hours.

Blueberry Bug Pop                                               Strawberry Rocket Pop

We have rocket pop, star and bug pop molds. I have seen robots, sailboats, and jewels. Basically if you give a child a slightly sweet frozen treat shaped like something cool they will love it. I have seen the molds on Amazon, at Target, and TJ Maxx. They are usually under $10 for a set.

Coconut milk is super nutritious. It helps to maintain blood sugar levels, gives a healthy boost to the immune system, helps build strong bones with a good dose of Phosphorous, reduces inflammation in the joints and is a good source of iron.

I would much rather give my child this than the sugar laden ice pops you find in the supermarket. Also, many of the ice pops you find in the market use synthetic dyes to achieve their fun colors. Blue tongue anyone? Synthetic dyes, especially when combined with refined sugars, have been found to have dramatic effects on children's behaviour and health. They have been linked to ADD, ADHD,  and certain cancers. Whatever ice pop you choose to serve your children, please take care to avoid these dyes. Look for brands that use more natural dyes like Tumeric and Paprika.

Have a delicious, happy, healthy summer.

Gluten-Free Carrot Muffins

These carrot muffins make a great snack or breakfast. They are packed with protein from the garbanzo bean flour, omega 3's from the chia powder, vitamin C and beta-carotene from the carrots, and lauric acid, which helps the body fight infections, from the coconut oil. The palm sugar has a low glycemic index so it doesn't make your blood sugar spike. The muffins are also filled with dietary fibers which help keep you feeling full as well as keeping your digestive system on track. For me, they are another example of how easy it is to bake without using any refined flour or refined sugars. 


3/4 cups garbanzo bean flour 

1/3 cup chia powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs

1/4 tsp Xantham gum

3/4 cups palm sugar

3/4 cups coconut oil

2 cups freshly grated carrots

1/2 cup pf chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350

Put the flour mixture, baking soda, and xantham gum in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Place eggs in a large bowl. Add sugar and coconut oil and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Slowly add the flour mixture keeping the mixer on low. Increase the speed as the flour gets incorporated until the batter is smooth.

Fold in the grated carrots, walnuts and cinnamon.

I like to make mini muffins. I find that when I make full size muffins my kids never finish them. The mini's are kid size, so they happily eat one or two. The best part is, I don't find 1/2 eaten muffins lying around the house. 

Fill the muffin tins 1/2 way up. Bake for @15 minutes.  If you are making full size muffins they will take about twice as long to cook. Stick a toothpick in a muffin to see if it is done. If it comes up clean, they are ready.

You can also add a little frosting on the top and make carrot cupcakes. 

A Healthy Version of Milk and Cookies

This is my untraditional take on milk and cookies. The"milk" is a nut milk sweetened with medjool dates. The cookies are almonds, oats and dark chocolate chips. Both are tasty and good for you.

Here is how you do it.

Nut Milk:

1 cup of mixed almonds, cashews and brazil nuts, soaked overnight in water. 

5 medjool dates soaked overnight in water (make sure to take the pits out)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups of water

a dash of salt

Rinse the nuts until the water is clear.

Put all of the ingredients, including the water that the dates were soaked in,  in a blender and blend until smooth.

Strain the almond milk either through a cheesecloth, a strainer with a paper towel, or a nut bag . That gets out all of the nut and date bits, so it has the consistency of milk.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:

You will need:
2/3 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/4 teaspoon Xantham gum
1/3 cup chia powder

1/3 cup hemp seeds (ground to a fine flour)

1 cup rolled oats (ground to a fine flour)

1 cup raw almonds (ground to a fine flour)

1/3 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil 

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350•

Grind the almonds, oats and hemp seeds. I find that a coffee grinder works very well. You can also use a blender.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Heat the coconut oil until liquid. At room temperature it has the consistency of margarine. Add the syrup and the oil to the dry ingredients. Mix well.

Mold the dough into cookie size shapes. This dough does no act like traditional chocolate chip cookie dough that 'melts' into a cookie shape. These will come out of the oven in the same size and shape they went in...

Bake 15 minutes on parchment lined baking tray. Don't overcook them. They will turn into rocks.

We should all limit our sugar. As recent studies show, sugar, in large amounts, can be very damaging to our health. Sugar gives pleasure, so cutting it out altogether is no fun. Instead, we should spend our sugar dollars wisely. Eat sugars in small amounts and eat ones that have additional health benefits, like the vitamins and minerals in maple syrup and dates, and the antioxidants in dark chocolate.

Organic vs Conventional

You can reduce your pesticide exposure level by 90% by avoiding the most contaminated fruits and vegetables. You cannot get rid of the pesticides with extra washing or peeling.

This list is from Kelly Dorfman's book "What's Eating Your Child?"


The Red Zone             So-So Levels                     Better                             Ahhhhh
avoid unless                 use caution                         but not                            the best of
organic                                                                   perfect                            the bunch


Peaches                       Spinach                              Applesauce                    Broccoli
Apples                          Grapes                               Raspberries                   Orange Juice
Sweet Bell Peppers     Lettuce                                Plums                            Blueberries
Celery                          Potatoes                             Grapefruit                       Papaya
Nectarines                   Green Beans                      Tangerine                      Cabbage
Strawberries                Hot Peppers                        Apple Juice                   Bananas
Cherries                      Cucumbers                          Honeydew Melon          Kiwi
Carrots                        Mushrooms                         Tomatoes                      Canned
Pears                          Cantaloupe                          Sweet Potatoes             Tomatoes*
Frozen Winter             Oranges                              Watermelon                   Asparagus
Squash                        Fresh Winter                       Cauliflower                    Mango
                                    Squash                                                                      Canned Pears
                                                                                                                       Pineapple
                                                                                                                       Avocado
                                                                                                                      Onions
                                                                                                                      Sweet Corn**
                                                                                                                      Sweet Peas

My additions:
*Careful when buying canned tomatoes. Buy BPA Free cans or buy the tomatoes in the cardboard box. Tomatoes are very acidic, so the BPA easily leaches into them.
**Most corn is Genetically Modified. You don't need to buy organic corn but you do need to avoid GMO corn. Look at the barcode. If it says 9 it is organic. If it says 4 it is conventionally grown. If it says 8 it is a GMO.

Sweet Potato Fries

   
 Sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritious foods around. They are very high in vitamins, minerals,  and complex carbohydrates as well as dietary fibers and protein. The Center for Science in the Public Interest rates sweet potatoes as the number one most nutritious vegetable because they such are so nutritionally rich. The best part is that they are naturally sweet, so kids like them.
Homemade Sweet Potato Fries are an easy way to get kids to eat this great root vegetable. And they are so easy to prepare.  Just chop the sweet potato (skin on), toss with oil and salt, spread them out on a baking tray and pop them in the oven at 375 for 1/2 an hour. I like to broil them on low for the last five minutes of cooking, because it makes them a little crispier. You can add additional spices if your family will go for that. My kids like spice, so I add a little caynenne pepper.
The other fun thing you can do is use cookie cutters to cut them into cool shapes. That is a fun afternoon project that you can do with your kids that turns into a yummy dish at dinner.

You can even make super heroes!

 It is very important that you buy organic when you purchase potatoes of any kind. The potato acts like a sponge with chemical pesticides. Peeling it doesn't help because the chemicals are absorbed by the potato. Also, much of the iron and dietary fiber is in the peel.

The quality of all fruits and vegetables is determined by the quality of the soil they are grown in. If they are grown organically, in a sustainable way, then they will have the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals. The more burnt out the soil, and the more chemicals used, the less nutritious they are. So buy organic for your health, and the health of the planet.

   

Sinus Tea

When that all too familiar pressure behind my nose starts to build, I know where to turn: Sinus Tea. This happens to me twice a year, if I am lucky. More, if I am not. When it happens, this tea really does the trick.

You will need:
The peel of an organic onion. Organic is important because you are using the skin. Red onion is better but white works as well.
1/4 inch piece of ginger (about the size of the tip of your thumb,) diced.
A few sprigs of thyme
Honey. The less processed the better.

Put the onion peel, ginger and thyme in a pot with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Lower the temperature to medium and allow to simmer, uncovered, for around 7 minutes.

Strain.
Add honey until it is sweet enough for you. I find one teaspoon to be enough for me.

The reason it works;
Onion, the skin in particular, has many medicinal properties. It is anti-inflammtory, anti-bacterial and anti-viral. It is also an expectorant, so is especially good for sinus and respiratory issues.
Ginger has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. It aids in circulation so, theoretically, will help you get over your cold more quickly. It is a warming root, so it is soothing. It also has anti-inflammatory properties
Thyme works as an antiseptic and an antihistimine. It is especially good for bronchial issues.
Honey is anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and has tons of anti-oxidants.

I find this tea to be very soothing. The anti-inflammatory action takes the pressure off of my nose. It also  loosens the tightness in my chest. You should drink lots of fluids when you are sick, so two cups of this a day is helpful. The steam from the tea also help to open up nasal passages and generally feels good going down. Ahhhhhh...relief.

True Food Kitchen

"Great tasting food that's good for you."

True Food Kitchen rocks. It is a perfect restaurant. The philosophy behind it is to serve good, recognizable food made with high quality ingredients.  It is my new favorite place. I just wish I lived near one.
My husband, 94-year-old father-in-law and 2 kids (ages 2 and 5) went to the one in Scottsdale when we were there visiting over spring break. It was a tough crowd to please especially at a "health food" restaurant. I admit, I was a little nervous.
I was pleasantly surprised when I saw how cool it looked. True Food has a sleek, modern design with an open kitchen. It is not what you visualize when you think of a health food restaurant. You know what I mean. Tables too close together and people sporting too much body hair. Not true here. It was hip and cool and filled with well dressed people who were out for a nice meal. Phew.
The food was awesome. The kids had a crudite plate with hummus and ranch dressing. Then, they split a cheese pizza. My father-in-law had turkey tacos and my husband and I split a kale salad followed by Panang Curry. I couldn't have been happier. All of the ingredients were fresh and organic. Everybody cleaned their plates.
True Food Kitchen's philosophy is that simple, sustainable, seasonal foods are the best for you and the environment. Developed with health guru Dr. Andrew Weil, their menu is filled with dishes made from local organic meats, produce, and whole grains. The most amazing part was that it was very reasonably priced. The most expensive thing on the menu was $19.
True Food Kitchen currently has four locations, two in Arizona and two in California. If only they would open one in New York then I would be truly happy.

www.truefoodkitchen.com