Coconut Chicken Curry with Invisible Vegetables

I had never had curry until I spent some time on the island of Okinawa.  Both my husband and I loved it!  After leaving Okinawa, we wanted to keep eating curry on a regular basis, so I began using a Japanese packaged curry mix from the grocery store.  Now that I'm actually paying attention to what we eat, I've noticed that that curry mix has MSG in it (not surprising).  It also contains canola oil, and artificial colors.  Canola oil, MSG, and artificial coloring are three things I try to completely avoid in our diet, so this curry mix was basically the devil.  Not to mention the fact that it is conventional canola oil, which brings with it the high possibility of being a genetically modified food.  In case you didn't know, canola is one of the four major GM crops.  Looks like it was about time to find a new curry recipe!

I used this recipe from All Recipes, but adapted it slightly.  First of all, I try to avoid buying canned tomato products and use fresh tomatoes instead -- tomatoes are acidic and can exacerbate the leaching of BPA in the cans.  Secondly, my family wasn't going to tolerate onion or tomatoes, so that issue had to be dealt with.  Third, I never cook with vegetable oil, so coconut oil is the obvious substitution.  Fourth, if there is a packaged ingredient that I can make at home, I try to opt to do that.  In this case, the coconut milk.

I began by heating the oil & curry seasoning in a cast iron skillet.  After two minutes, I added garlic.
[Note: I thought about making my own blend of spices for the curry seasoning, however it would have been more expensive to buy all the spices separately than it was to buy this $4 bottle.  So, maybe next time.  In case you're wondering, the ingredients are: Turmeric, coriander, cumin, lemon peel, black pepper, freeze-dried whole lemon powder, cardamom, cinnamon, and garlic, cayenne.]

I added the chicken (two organic free-range chicken breasts, chopped) and tossed it to coat it in the curry oil.

Next, I chopped two tomatoes and half an onion.  I placed them in a casserole dish and baked them at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

The veggies went straight from the oven into the blender to be pulverized.

Ta-da!  Invisible veggies.

Next, I made the coconut milk.

I dumped the chicken, liquid veggies and coconut milk into the crock pot and let it simmer for a couple hours.

I found that the sauce was too thin for my liking, so I decided to thicken it with flour.  I melted 4 tablespoons of butter over the stove and slowly whisked in 4 tablespoons of flour, then whisked that mixture into the curry.  

I would say this was a very mild curry.  I would have enjoyed it more if it had a richer flavor... perhaps more curry seasoning next time? At any rate, my son and daughter both ate it, so it was a success in that aspect!  My husband's first words after his first bite: "I taste onion." - I just can't win with him! :)

More than it Appears

My daughter had sweet potatoes for lunch today!  When I say that, it probably sounds like I simply gave her some sweet potatoes for lunch, no big deal.  But actually, I had a lot hiding in that little bowl of orange pureed potatoes.  I jam-packed it full of essential nutrients to promote her optimal growth and development.  I melted a delicious helping of grass-fed butter into them, crumbled an egg yolk on top, sprinkled in plenty of flax seeds and some cinnamon, and poured in some whole, raw milk just before I pureed it into a perfectly smooth consistency.  All she saw and tasted was her favorite sweet potatoes, but the nutritional content of what she got was more than meets the eye...

Sweet Potato:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Manganese
• Vitamin B6
• Potassium
• Fiber
• Vitamin B5
• Vitamin B3

Grass Fed Butter:

• vitamin A
• vitamin D
• vitamin K
• vitamin E
• Lecithin
• Omega-6 and Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids
• Glycosphingolipids
• Conjugated Linoleic Acid

-vitamin A is more easily absorbed and utilized from butter than from other source!

-it's important to have some fat in your sweet potato if you want to enjoy the full beta-carotene benefits.

Raw milk:

• High In Vitamins - Including B12 
• All 22 Essential Amino Acids
• Natural Enzymes - Including Lactase 
• Natural Probiotics 
• Good Fatty Acids

Organic, pastured egg yolk:

• protein
• fat
• calcium
• magnesium
• iron
• phosphorus
• potassium
• sodium
• zinc
• copper
• manganese
• selenium
• thiamin
• riboflavin
• niacin
• pantothenic acid
• B6
• folate
• B12
• vitamin A
• vitamin E
• vitamin D
• vitamin K
• DHA and AA (long chain essential fatty acids)
• carotenoids

Flax seed:

• omega 3 fatty acids
• manganese
• thiamin (vitamin B1)
• fiber
• mangesium
• tryptophan
• phosphorus
• copper
  

Cinnamon: 
did you know cinnamon has health benefits?  it does!

• Excellent source of manganese and fiber and a very good source of calcium.
• Studies have shown that just 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol.
• Researchers at Kansas State University found that cinnamon fights the E. coli bacteria
• One study found that smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory.
• It has an anti-clotting effect on the blood.
• Several studies suggest that cinnamon may have a regulatory effect on blood sugar.

Not bad for a seemingly simple bowl of sweet potatoes, right?

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

I was pretty skeptical about this recipe while I was mixing it together, but it turned out so lovely!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

14 cup demerara sugar 12  tsp cinnamon 34  cup raw milk 14 cup coconut oil 14  cup honey 1 egg

2 cups white whole wheat flour 3 tsps baking powder 12 tsp salt 1 cup fresh blueberries

1	Heat oven to 400.
2	Grease muffin pans or line with paper cupcake liners.
3	Mix demerara sugar and cinnamon, set aside.
4	Beat milk, oil, honey, and egg in a large bowl.
5	Stir in flours, baking powder, and salt just until everything is moistened (will be lumpy).
6	Fold in berries.
7	Divide evenly among tins
8	Sprinkle with demerara sugar mixture.
9	Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.
10	Remove from pan immediately.

Breakfast Baked in a Muffin Tin

This is one of my new favorite ways to eat breakfast!  It takes a little bit of time to cook, so I like tossing it in the oven and going about my business (tending to babies or taking a shower or quietly sipping coffee) while it cooks.  Very minimal effort.

You need a muffin tin, meat of your choice (sausage or bacon), eggs, and bread.  I'm using Applegate's pre-cooked chicken & apple sausage, organic free-range eggs, and organic sprouted whole wheat bread.

I cut the bread into triangles and arranged into muffin tins like so.

I chopped up the sausage & piled into the cups, then cracked an egg on top of each one.  If you're using raw sausage meat or bacon, you'll probably want to brown it before you lay it in.

Is it just me, or do these kind of resemble a golden snitch? ha! I stuck them in the oven at 350 degrees for maybe 15 minutes.  It was long enough for me to blow dry my hair & nurse the baby for a little bit.  I'd occasionally open the oven and shake the pan: if the yolks were still wiggly, they aren't done.  When they don't wiggle anymore, they're done.

I like to pair mine with avocado and sprinkle with salt.

Breakfast Pizza

Eggs!

The local food group had their monthly meeting today and the topic was eggs.  I don't think I can say enough good things about eggs!  Such a wonderful source of a variety of essential & beneficial nutrients.  I personally love eggs, so it isn't hard to incorporate them into my diet at all.  I make them for breakfast pretty much every single morning and never get tired of them.

My contribution to the workshop was a breakfast pizza containing cheese, bacon, cherry tomatoes, and of course, eggs.  For the crust, I used a soaked whole wheat dough.  I mixed together 3 cups of whole wheat flour, 1.5 cups of water, 3 T of apple cider vinegar, and 1/8 a cup of honey, then covered and let sit over night.  In the morning, I proofed a tablespoon of yeast with warm water and honey and added it to my dough.

soaked whole wheat pizza dough

Then it was time to cook the bacon.  Applegate's Sunday Bacon is the BEST bacon I've ever had... (not that I've really had that many different brands in my life because I spent a majority of my life hating bacon?) but this stuff is goooood. 

Next I grated the raw, mild cheddar cheese.  I would have used mozzarella if I had the chance, but I didn't. 

I rolled the dough out and laid it on pizza pan, brushed with olive oil, then added the cheese, bacon & quartered cherry tomatoes.

And the final step was to crack 4 eggs on top before sliding it into a 500 degree oven.

After about 12 minutes, I had a soaked whole wheat breakfast pizza with plenty of protein!

Clementine Carrot Cupcakes

When my husband was deployed and I spent an entire 15 months alone with my first baby, I adopted many new hobbies to help pass the time.  Baking cupcakes was one of those hobbies.  Over time, I grew a reputation for baking cupcakes.  So naturally when I first started this "whole foods" endeavor, one of the first thing some people asked was, "Does this mean no more cupcakes?!"

Well, today I baked cupcakes with whole ingredients and sweetened purely with sucanat.  I've often used sucanat in place of sugar for baking sweets, that's nothing new.  But this time I also used sucanat to make my own powdered sugar to make the frosting.

Clementine Carrot Cupcakes

• 3 cups flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sucanat
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tablespoons clementine juice
• zest of 2 clementines
• 2 cups carrots, finely grated

I started by combining the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large measuring cup.   In a mixing bowl, I beat the eggs and sucanat until thick.

Add oil & applesauce and beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.

Add vanilla, juice, zest, and mix well.

my homemade vanilla extract

Fold in the shredded carrots.

Add dry ingredients until just combined.  Line muffin tins & fill each cup 90% with batter.

Bake 16-18 minutes at 350 degrees.

Clementine Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1.5 sticks of butter, room temp.
• 1.5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp ginger
• 16 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
• 1 tablespoon clementine zest
• pinch of salt

Making powdered sugar out of sucanat:

Take 1 1/2 cups of sucanat and add 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder OR cornstarch.  Combine them in a blender and blend on high continuously until the mixture is of uniform powdered consistency.  Keep the lid on the blender until the powder settles.

*I used a food processor because my blender broke, *sob*

home made powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add cream cheese and beat again until light and fluffy.  Add remaining ingredients and mix approximately 3 minutes.

If I had even the slightest ability to make a cupcake look cute, I would, but this is about the extent of my frosting skills. :)  The frosting turned out great -- perfect consistency!  My only complaint is the taste.  Sucanat is a great substitute for brown sugar, particularly in recipes that call for molasses flavoring.  I find that it definitely carries it's own distinct flavor, which I'm not overly fond of.  Inside cake and brownies, the flavor is masked, but in drinks and frosting, I can taste it.  But the unique flavor sure didn't stop my son for gobbling down three of these cupcakes while my back was turned!


The good news is that you can make powdered sugar with any granulated sugar.  Sucanat, turbinado, and coconut sugar would be the healthiest options.  Regular white sugar or cane juice crystals are a less healthy option, but will work, too.

cranberry carrot oat bars

cranberry carrot oat bars:

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees and greasing a baking sheet with coconut oil:

Spread 1 cup of oats on greased baking sheet and roast for 8 minutes:

Meanwhile, stir together:

1/4 cup applesauce

1/2 cup honey

2 T yogurt

1 T fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 T coconut oil

When oats are ready, combine them in a bowl with:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger

1 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup chopped cranberries *

* (why yes, i did dump in more than 1/4 cup of cranberries. and no, i did not chop them)

Add applesauce mixture to oat mixture and stir until combined.

Spread onto a 9" baking pan lined with parchment paper, greased with coconut oil.

(I simply greased a cookie sheet with coconut oil and formed my batter into a square-ish shape.)

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Store in an air tight container for up to four days.