Red Quinoa Stir Fry

Quinoa Stir Fry is so nutritious and delicious.  Quinoa is naturally gluten-free, contains many vitamins & minerals, and is the only plant food considered to be a complete protein with 9 essential amino acids.  1 cup of quinoa yields 8 healthy grams of protein.

INGREDIENTS:

Organic Red Quinoa = 1 Cup

Filtered Water = 2 Cups

Pasture Raised Eggs = 2 - 3

Organic Mushrooms = 1/2 - 1 Cup

Organic Ground Cayenne Pepper = 1/2 Teaspoon

Organic Celtic Salt = 1 Teaspoon

Organic Ground Cumin = 1/2 Teaspoon

Organic Ground Chili Powder = 1/2 Teaspoon

Organic Black Ground Pepper = 1/2 Teaspoon

Ghee or Coconut Oil = 1 Tablespoon

---

INSTRUCTIONS:

 I prefer to prepare my Quinoa in my InstaPot, but you can also prepare the Quinoa in a saucepan (see below).

InstaPot Quinoa: Place one cup of Quinoa into Instapot, cover with 2 cups of filtered water, and add seasonings of choice.  Cover and place on rice setting.  Instapot will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and Quinoa will be perfectly fluffy.  Hint: make extra to use in other recipes throughout the week!

Cast Iron Skillet - Place 1 tablespoon of ghee in cast iron skillet and sauté mushrooms with salt and pepper.  Add 2 pasture raised eggs, scramble gently with mushrooms, add Quinoa to the mix and sauté together for a few minutes.  

Serve and enjoy!

Stove top Quinoa: Add 2 cups of water and salt to sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and let simmer until water absorbs- about 15-20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let set aside for 5 minutes, uncover and fluff with fork. 

Ideas: Add spinach or any other veggies to your stir fry! Experiment with seasonings and enjoy this healthy and nutritious dish.

Homemade Elderberry Syrup

Homemade Elderberry Syrup is a staple in our home.  The mighty elderberry is known to be antiviral and immunity boosting. Elderberries posses one of the highest antioxidant strength of all the edible berries, and they are an excellent source of Vitamin C.  100 grams carries approximately 60% of the daily recommended intakes levels of Vitamin C. These wonderful berries have a history of treating congestion, colds, flu, soothing upset tummies, detoxification, and more.   According to the Herbal Academy of New England, Elderberry Syrup will keep up to 1 year in the refrigerator if it contains 20% sugar, and this recipe meets that qualification with the added raw honey.   Although, unless you make gallons, it won't last that long...it's just so good.  Did you know that you can use this syrup on your pancakes, waffles, hot cereals, smoothies, and more!   In our family we consume about 2 Tablespoons per day and more at the first sign of a cold or flu. 

How I make Elderberry Syrup

INGREDIENTS:

4 Cups of Cold Filtered Water

2 Cups of Organic Dried Elderberry

1 Organic Cinnamon Stick

1.5 Teaspoons of grated organic ginger

Raw Local Honey (amount will vary upon liquid amount and taste)

PROCESS:

Bring water and berries to boil and let simmer for approximately 35 minutes.  Remove from heat and press berries into the water to release the berry juices, further.  Pour berries and juice/water into a very fine strainer or cheesecloth and let the juice drip into a glass bowl or large glass measuring cup.  Measure the liquid strained and add approximately the same amount of raw local honey.  I use about 1/4 cup less than the berry juice measurement because I don't like it overly sweet.  To ensure that the honey is dispersed thoroughly within the berry juice, heat very gently on the stove while stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, let cool, and place in sterile glass containers!

Options: You can add Rose Hips Seeds for more Vitamin C impact and Whole Organic Cloves for a great Cinnamon & Clove combination. 

ENJOY!

Chocolate Covered Brazil Nuts

Cacao Covered Brazil Nuts made with Raw Cacao, Coconut Oil & Raw Honey (see my healthy chocolate recipe) are not only delicious but they are nutritious.  

Of course you can use any kind of nut you like or even a variety of raw nuts together, I like to keep raw Brazil nuts on hand for the specific mineral benefits that I need in my nutrition protocol. 1 of Brazil Nuts can provide about 20% of the daily value of phosphorus, 8% of the daily value of zinc, 15% of the daily value of manganese, 25% of the daily value of magnesium and 780% of the daily value of selenium. Not to mention Brazil nuts are a great source of Thiamine and Vitamin E.  

One of the many cool facts about Cacao, besides that fact that it tastes good, is that it is the highest source of magnesium and chromium of any food! Magnesium is the most deficient mineral in the average human. All of the compounds found in raw cacao benefits longevity in humans. For my healthy chocolate recipe with Raw Cacao, click here.

Here's to healthy snacks with a mineral punch!

Easy Homemade Toothpaste

Commercial toothpastes are commonly full of all kinds of ingredients and harmful chemicals like fluoride and foaming agents that may be harmful to your health.  For this reason, I prefer to make toothpaste for my family.  It's not only healthier, but more economical.  

My results: My teeth are whiter, the sensitivity to hot and cold has disappeared, no tartar build up, and my gums no longer bleed!  I'm sold.

Ingredients:

Organic Coconut Oil- research shows that coconut oil is effective against cavity causing bacteria and maintains a natural lipid enzyme balance on the tongue. I prefer to purchase expeller-pressed organic coconut oil.  

Bob’s Red Mill Baking Soda- acts as an abrasive and helps whiten teeth.  It works! I like Bob's Red Mill because of it's finer texture.  Most baking soda's, without added ingredients, will work just fine.

Organic Peppermint Extract to flavor.  Some people prefer to use essential oils and that is a personal choice.  I 100% agree in the benefits of aromatherapy and use EO's daily, but I do not believe in ingesting them in any amount so I prefer to us organic extracts to flavor foods and homemade toothpaste.

Magnesium Chloride Oil- this is a newly added ingredient to our homemade toothpaste. Since magnesium is responsible for so many processes/systems in our body I decided to add easily absorbable magnesium chloride spray to our dental hygiene regime.  You can even make this toothpaste without the Mag Chloride and spray your toothbrush 1 or 2x per week and brush with mag as an added benefit. You can make your own with Magnesium Chloride Flakes and Distilled Water, or order online.  Here is my favorite: Magnesium Mist Oil

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients together and place in glass storage container. You can play around with the measurements to suit your taste and texture. 

Coconut Oil- about 1/2 cup (feel free to double the recipe, if need be)

Baking Soda- 1/2 cup

Organic Flavor extract- 1/8 tsp. or less

Magnesium Chloride Oil- 2 teaspoons.  

Brush teeth daily with generous amount.  My preferred method is a combination of oil pull/brush technique.  I wash my tooth brush in hot water and then scoop out a generous amount of homemade toothpaste and swish around in my mouth for as long as I can- about 10 minutes.  I then spit it out, rinse and scoop another generous amount onto my toothbrush and brush my teeth, gums, tongue and rinse.

Here's to a healthy mouth.

Rose Hip Spread

Rose Hip spread is not only delicious, but nutritious! A great way to get your Vitamin C needs for the day.

A Rose Hip is the fruit  or seed pod of the rose plant.  Some reports claim that wild varieties have the highest concentration of Vitamin C, with some estimates reporting 30-50 times the Vitamin C of oranges.  Rose Hip, also known as Rose Hep is so packed with nutrients that I consider it a SUPER FOOD!  Known for it's Vitamin C content, Rose Hip also contain vitamins A, B-3, D and E as well as bioflavonoids, citric acid, flavonoids, fructose, malic acid, tannins and zinc.  Because Rose Hips contain a variety of antioxidant; carotenoids, flavonoids, polphenols, leucanthocyanins and catechins, Rose Hips are considered to be a good cancer preventative and the natural pectin found in Rose Hips is beneficial for gut health.

---

Rose Hip Spread Recipe:

1/2 C of dried organic Rose Hips ground to a fine powder (I use my coffee bean grinder). You can also place 1/2 C of dried organic Rose Hips in boiling water and reduce to simmer for several minutes until hips are soft and remove seeds.

1 Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar or organic fruit juice of choice (I love the benefits of ACV and the tart taste)

1 tsp. of organic sweetener of choice to taste (raw honey, molasses, maple syrup) 

Mix all ingredients together and serve on organic sprouted bread, organic crackers, raw cheese or organic fruit!

It's deliciously tart and sweet.  Feel free to experiment with organic fruit juices and sweeteners of your choice.

---

---

Garbanzo Bean Smooth Spicy Spread

Garbanzo Bean Spicy Spread

Ingredients

2 cups of soaked and cooked garbanzo beans.  I prefer to soak mine for 24 hours and then pressure cook them in my InstantPot for only 10 minutes with garlic and natural salt.  Soaking, Sprouting and Fermenting Legumes aids in digestion and assimilation of other valuable nutrients. 

1 Tablespoon of Organic Olive Oil

Juice of 1 Large Organic Lemon

1/4 Cup of Chopped Serrano Peppers (or peppers of your choice)

1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

(Note: add any spices that you love to this spread)

---

Process:

Place all ingredients into blender/Vita-mix and blend until desired consistency. I prefer my bean dip to be very smooth without the gritty texture.  Pressure cooking also helps reach this desired consistency.

Spoon into bowl and enjoy with your favorite chips.  My favorites are Jackson's Honest Chips made with organic heirloom potatoes, coconut oil and sea salt. 

Enjoy!