Great Foods For After Long Runs

I ran 11.25 miles this morning at a 9:18 pace. That's a spritely pace for me :)

When I got home, I started eating and haven't stopped.

I thought I'd post about some great post-run foods. Being that I'm a Lifetime member of Weight Watchers, I count all the points, of course!

I started with Poor Man's Pancakes as we always have tons of overripe bananas in this house. I had scrambled eggs with veggies on the side.

Lunch was a variation on this falafel recipe with tahini dressing.

Falafel Muffins

4 cups cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas) (I soak them overnight and cook them in my slow cooker)

1 onion, chopped

2 T dried parsley

6-8 cloves minced garlic

2 egg

2 t kosher salt

1/4 t black pepper

4 t ground cumin

2 t ground coriander

1/8 t cayenne pepper

2 large slices gluten-free bread

Put it in a food processor and process! Rather than try to fry these as patties (I can't get them to hold together) or make them in the slow cooker (same issue), I scooped about 1/4 cup into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Makes 12 falafel muffins, 3 points plus each.

Tahini Dressing

6 T tahini

Juice of one lemon

2-5 cloves of garlic, to taste

A tiny sprinkle of cayenne pepper

1/2 t - 1 t salt (to taste)

Sprinkle of dried parsley

Water

Put this all in your high-powered blender. Add enough water so it's 15-16 ounces. Blend until it's, well, blended!

This makes 15-16 2 tablespoon servings, 1 points plus each.

Dessert was Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough because I had extra chickpeas!

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
2 cups warm chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1/8 cup agave with 10 drops vanilla liquid stevia mixed in
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (I prefer salted)
1/4 cup dairy-free semisweet chocolate chips*

Mix the first 3 ingredients in the food processor. Transfer it to a bowl and mix in the chocolate chips*. This comes out to be about 1 3/4 cups. Each 1/4 cup serving is 5 points plus.

Yum! A full day of fulling food and one full mama.

Next week, I'm running my 2nd half marathon, the Half of Quincy. Looking forward to totally rocking it!

*Given that Passover is approaching, it is fairly easy to get regular-sized dairy & soy free chocolate chips at stores that sell Passover-safe foods, as opposed to the mini chips I usually buy from Enjoy Life/Amazon. Amazon is selling the regular sized chips at a fair price, but I found them at Roche Bros (if you're in MA) for $3/10 oz bag.

Gluten-free Lemon Cake with Creamy Coconut Frosting

We had a birthday in our home this week! I was given several cake and muffin mixes and decided to spruce one up for the party. Very simple, but very good! Of course I don't have a picture because we ate it up too fast!

If you don't have a cake mix handy, an easy one to find is the GF Betty Crocker mix found at regular grocery stores. This is actually one of our favorite cake mixes.

Gluten-free Lemon Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
Zest from 2 lemons
2 teaspoons lemon extract (or extra zest)*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Juice of one lemon

Whatever the box calls for, which in my case was:
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (I used coconut)
1 cup non-dairy milk (minus the lemon juice)

Preheat the oven according to the box of cake mix.

Zest the lemon. You do this by washing them well and then grating them on the smallest setting of your grater.

Juice one of the lemons into a measuring cup. Add milk (I used rice) to bring it to the 1 cup mark (or how ever much liquid your recipe calls for).

Beat the oil, milk, extracts, eggs and zest together. Slowly add cake mix and beat until well-mixed.

Pour into a 8 or 9-inch round cake pan, or a square one. Bake according to the directions on the box.

Creamy Coconut Frosting
I cannot for the life of me find the recipe I used. It was on the internet.

It went something like this :)

1/2 cup coconut oil, cold
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4-1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used an alcohol-free one)
3/4 cup shredded coconut

Since it's hot right now, I measured out the coconut oil and put it in the fridge for a while.

Put it in a bowl and beat it until creamy. Add powdered sugar and milk.

If it's cold, you will need to heat the coconut milk just a tiny bit to get it liquid.

Add the vanilla to 1/4 cup cooled coconut milk. Slowly add to mixing bowl. Add more milk if the consistency is too thick.

Fold in shredded coconut.

Frost the cooled cake. Store in the refrigerator until it's time to eat.

*If you have trouble finding lemon extract, it's super-easy to make your own. All you need is 7-8 ounces of vodka or rum, 1 lemon (preferably organic because the alcohol will be extracting all that is on the peel) and an 8 ounce glass jar.

Peel the lemon using a veggie peeler, focusing on getting just the yellow part (the white makes it bitter). Put the peel in the jar, and cover with alcohol. Put it a dark places and let it sit for at least a week (I think I did 2 weeks). Remove the peel and store the extract.

Chocolate Date Balls

This recipe is adapted from Elana's Pantry. I wanted to try and make them without any sugar. Success!

Chocolate Date Balls
‎1 cup medjool dates
1/2 cup unsweetened baking chocolate discs (from Trader Joe's)
1 cup pumpkin seeds (I also used sunflower seeds)
Pinch sea salt
Water (teaspoon or more if you need it)

Process in food processor. Roll into balls.

If you use raw cacao or baker's powder, use less. I think it'd be good with more pumpkin seeds as well.

Fried Bananas: Gluten & Dairy free

If you have some overripe bananas, why not fry them?

Fried Bananas
Several overripe bananas
Equal parts almond & coconut flour
Coconut oil

Heat some coconut oil in a skiller or wok.

Mix the flours in a bowl. Chop the bananas into big pieces, and roll them in the flour mix.



Fry then in the pan just lightly until browned. Eat!

Great with maple syrup, homemade jam, or "as is".

Gluten Free Chocolate Beet Cake

I had some beets from the CSA that I desperately needed to use up, so I decided to modify Green Smoothie Girl's recipe for a Chocolate Beet Cake.

Gluten Free Chocolate Beet Cake
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla liquid stevia (or another 1/2 cup sugar plus 1 teaspoon vanilla)
1/4 cup coconut oil
about 1 1/2 large ripe bananas
1 3/4 cups steamed beets (about 2 large beets, chopped - she says to peel them, I did not)
4 Tbsp. raw cacao (best) or nonalkalized baking cocoa
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 sorghum flour

Mix all the ingredients in your blender except for the flours. Dump the blended purple mess into a bowl and take a picture. Really, it is such a beautiful, rich color! Then mix in the flours and take another picture.



Bake in 9”x13” oiled pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. It's a lot less purple once it's cooked.



So good. I didn't frost it. It was good as is. It probably would have been fine with all buckwheat flour, so I'll likely do that next time.

Homemade Chocolate Popsicles: Sugar-free, Raw & Easy!

Bear loves these popsicles (scroll down to the end). They are very good. And very expensive.

We recently bought those plastic popsicle molds, in hopes of creating something a little less expensive. I came up with a perfect solution. I generally have a plethora of ripe bananas in my house, so this recipe (a variation on "Awesome Ice Cream") just made sense!

This is not the best picture, but Bear was losing his patience as I held his popsicle out of reach :)



Chocolate Popsicles
3-3 1/2 bananas
1/2 cup milk (I used unsweetened coconut milk, raw nut milk will work as well - I was out)
1 1/2 tablespoons raw cacao powder

Blend this in your blender. It should be about 16 ounces at the end. I poured this into 8 popsicle molds, and put the sticks in. Freeze overnight.

This is 1 point in the Weight Watchers system, even with cow's milk, as long as you don't use heavy cream or canned coconut milk :)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - Gluten-free & Weight Watchers Friendly

Today, I modified this recipe to make it gluten free & Weight Watchers friendly.

Oatmeal Cookies
1 tablespoon oil
2-3 very ripe bananas
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia, vanilla
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend (high fiber is better)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Add the oil to a glass measuring cup. Add 2 bananas to the cup. Either mash with a fork or use a stick blender. If the oil & bananas doesn't equal 1 level cup, add more banana chunks until it does.

Add the banana/oil mix & rest of the ingredients except oats, raisins & chips to a bowl & mix well. For flour, I used 1/4 cup sorghum flour, 1/4 cup potato starch flour, 1/4 cup brown rice flour & 3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour; I would have used buckwheat, but I'm out! I should have added 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum, but I forgot.

I split this into 3 small bowls, added raisins to one, chips to another and left the 3rd bowl plain.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. I made 43 cookies.

Bake 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Each cookie is only 1 Weight Watchers point!

Banana Cake Torte: GFDFSF & Grain-free

I've recently started experimenting with low/no-grain & low/no-sugar cooking. I decided to make a reduced-sugar, low/no-grain version of this banana cake, a family favorite. It came out yummy and quite dense; my husband said it's more like a torte than a cake.

(the pumpkin pulp is what is strained from pumpkin seed milk, but I've included possible alternatives)

Gluten-free Dairy-free Banana Torte
1/3 c. oil
3/4 c. sugar
15 drops Vanilla Crème Stevia (they have it at iHerb, too - get $5 off!) - measure over a spoon, not the bowl, in case it spills
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c. mashed banana
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. mayonnaise
about 3/4 cup pumpkin pulp OR use 1/4 cup non-dairy milk & 1/2 cup nut meal or flour
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup potato starch flour
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except flours & chocolate chips. Add flours & mix again. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes. Enjoy :)

Gluten-free Decadent Brownies

I've been experimenting with changing up my brownies recipe. They're a bit crumbly, so last night I increased the flour & decreased the sugar. It did the trick.

Here's what I came up with. And since I already gave birth, I changed the name as well :)

Decadent Brownies
3/4 cup coconut oil/margarine, melted (I used 1/2 cup coconut oil & 1/4 cup soy-free margarine)
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
6 1-ounce squares of baker's chocolate, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup baking mix or flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream sugar and oil/margarine together. Add eggs and mix well. Mix in melted chocolate and vanilla. Mix in flour, and then nuts.

Spread batter in an 8X8 inch pan. Bake at 325 for just under 40 minutes - do not overcook!

Enjoy

Wheat-free Dairy-free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I had a hankering for oatmeal raisin cookies yesterday. Usually, I make GlutenFreeGirl's recipe, but I don't have any teff flour. So I did an internnet search and converted the 1st recipe I found. Here's what I came up with.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup soy-free margarine (you can just use 3/4 cup margarine or oil for the 1st 3 ingredients)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups gluten-free baking mix (works out to be 1 cup rice flour, 1/3 cup potato starch flour & 1/6 cup tapioca flour with 1 teaspoon xanthan gum)
2 1/2 cup oats (I used quick oats because that's what I had, could also use GF oats)
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat together all ingredients except oats, baking mix & raisins. Add baking mix & stir well then add oats & raisins, again stirring well. Drop cookies onto greased baking sheet. Cook for about 10 minutes, depending on cookie size. They don't need to cook as long as I thought they would.

Honestly, I thought these were as good if not better than GFG's recipe. I used less sugar than the traditional recipe, but I didn't even notice the difference.

I've been experimenting a lot with my baking mix. I'm simply adding it in place of flour in wheat-containing recipes to see how it goes. So far, so good! I've converted muffin recipes, cornbread recipes and now oatmeal cookie recipes to easily be wheat/gluten-free. It's so handy to have around. I highly recommend mixing some up and keeping it on your shelf.

Gluten-free Dairy-free Chocolate Crinkles

I was asked today what my favorite gluten-free cookie is. Chocolate crinkles! I made these for a party recently, and was reminded how delicious they are! Gluten eaters love them and can't tell they are GF - really :)

Chocolate Crinkles
1/2 cup coconut oil
4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups rice flour (I also used a little garbanzo bean flour)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
confectioners sugar

Mix oil, chocolate, and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each. Add vanilla. Measure flour and add. Stir into chocolate mix along with salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder. Chill several hours or overnight. Heat oven to 350. Form dough into balls (it will be stiff) and roll in confectioners sugar to coat. Place about 2" apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake about 10-14 minutes.

These cookies are awesome with or without coconut oil, but using high quality coconut oil adds just a touch of coconut flavor. These cookies freeze really well, and the dough keeps well in the fridge.

Decadent Birthing Brownies

These brownies are by far the best gluten-free brownies I've ever had. They are called "Decadent Birthing Brownies". Of course, the original recipe has wheat flour & butter, but I made them GFDFSF so as to share them with my son. It is said they will cause a woman to go into labor, but supposedly they don't work their magic until after your due date (which for me is not for 7 days).

Decadent Birthing Brownies
3/4 cup coconut oil/margarine, melted (I used 1/2 cup coconut oil & 1/4 cup soy-free margarine)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
6 1-ounce squares of baker's chocolate, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup baking mix or flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream sugar and oil/margarine together. Add eggs and mix well. Mix in melted chocolate and vanilla. Mix in flour, and then nuts.

Spread batter in an 8X8 inch pan. Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes.

Yum. Wow.

Crepes! Gluten-free Dairy-free, Of Course :)

My husband called when he thought I was coming home from the store tonight and asked me to pick up a pumpkin spice latte for him. But alas, I was already at home :) So while I was making him one with our latte machine, the topic of crepes came up. I've honestly never eaten a crepe, but since I found a recipe I could adapt and my son loves pancakes, I figured I'd try it! The recipe was called "Dinner Crepes', but honestly, I have no idea what the difference is :)

Gluten-free Dairy-free Crepes
1 cup baking mix
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour (to boost protein)
2 tablespoons oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I used vanilla coconut milk by So Delicious)
1 cup (or more) water

Mix all ingredients well.

I think I probably used about 1/3-1/2 cup of batter per crepe. I cooked these on a regular cast iron griddle with a little oil. I cooked them on very low heat and flipped once the bubble started popping.

We rolled them up with bananas inside and sprinkled with walnuts and honey. My husband thought they were so good he took a picture. Yum!

Hotter Than Should Be Legal: Blueberry "Ice Cream"

It's 91 outside right now, which means it's about 88 inside. We do not have central air, and generally we don't need it. But it's supposed to be 94 tomorrow and then cool off to a brisk 87 on Wednesday. Ugh. Did I mention I'm 6 months pregnant and already having trouble walking? Not fun.

Maybe next time I'll get pregnant in the summer or late, late spring so I can skip this "being massively pregnant in the sweltering heat" stage.

I decided last night to make a variation on this "ice cream". I actually haven't made ice cream this summer at all because I lost the paddle to my ice cream maker, and it can't be replaced. I lent it to a friend during the winter, and somehow in the transaction, one of us lost the paddle. Another friend lent me hers last week, so now I'm good to go again :)

So instead of using strawberries in this recipe, I halved the recipe (this machine is smaller than my old one), used fresh blueberries (2 cups instead of the 1.5 cups that would be a literal "half") and added half of a bourbon vanilla bean. I used the raw, unfiltered honey that I purchased at a road-side farm when I was in Vermont.

Yum! Can you say "yum"? The unique flavor of the honey made it taste so fresh and light. It tastes more like a sorbet than a "milk"-based (albeit coconut & rice) dessert.

Yum.

Gluten-free Dairy-free Chocolate Zucchini Bread

One of the veggies that's in season right now is the zucchini. We are not able to have a garden where we currently live (hence, our weekly trips to the farmer's market), but one of our neighbors has a garden and has been passing along lettuce, zucchini & summer squash. Another neighbor passed along a recipe for chocolate zucchini bread, which was fairly easily converted to gluten-free dairy-free and soy-free.

Here it is!

Gluten-free Dairy-free Chocolate Zucchini Bread
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup sucanat (or sugar)
1/2 cup oil (I most likely used coconut)
1/2 cup mashed banana (or use another 1/2 cup oil)
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups zucchini, coarsely grated
2 cups gluten-free baking mix
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Beat first 5 ingredients until thick. Stir in remaining ingredients. Add to a greased baking dish (I used 8X8 cake pan, the recipe calls for a large tube). Bake at 350 degrees until done (took about 40 minutes).

This was really, really good!!

Black Bean Brownies

My new favorite dessert is Black Bean Brownies. They are gluten-free (flourless, so grain-free) and dairy-free, and we're lovin' them here!

Black Bean Brownies
1 can black beans, drained (1.75 cups, I used fresh)
3 eggs
3 tablespoons oil, (I used coconut oil, of course!)
1/3 cup cocoa powder. I used raw unsweetened...
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup sucanat

Combine the above in a blender, blending til smooth. Then add 1/2 cup chocolate chips if you like. I didn't ;)

Bake at 350 degrees in an 8x8 greased baking pan for about 22-25 minutes. Yummy!

New Recipes: Sweet & Spicy Lentil Chili & Mostly Raw Chocolate Pudding

I made 2 new recipes tooday that I'd like to share with you.

The 1st is Sweet & Spicy Lentil Chili from the cookbook, Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. This is 95% the same as what's in the cookbook, but of course I can't make a recipe as it's written :) Part of that is I didn't have all the correct ingredients!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 cups brown lentils
1 can 28 oz crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses, unsulfured
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup apple juice

You can either just put it all in the crockpot as is, or saute the onion, pepper & garlic in olive oil first. This time, I did actually go the saute route, something I rarely do.

This was awesome!

Then, I tried my hand at Green Smoothie Girl's Raw Chocolate Pudding. It's in chapter 11 of her e-book, linked above. Again, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. Here's what I did:

1 cup water
1/2 cup kale
2 cups baby Thai coconut meat (she has YouTube demos about these coconuts)
1 cup raw cashews
6 tablespoons raw chocolate
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup raw honey (or 1/4 cup raw agave for vegans)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 xanthan gum (or guar guam, soy lecithin, or some other emulsifier)

She recommends pureeing the kale & water first, but I didn't find that to be necessary. Blend this until smooth. We ate it at room temperature, but I think it'd be better chilled.

Check back in the next few days for more on young Thai coconuts, as well as my other East Bay food adventures :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! Did you make resolutions? I made a couple myself, one of which is to continue on my healthy living journey.

On that note, I made Raw Fudge again & further refined my recipe, using my new Blendtec!

Raw Coconut Fudge
I made some raw coconut oil fudge this weekend. Here's the original recipe:

1 1/2 cups coconut oil
1 cup raw honey
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup almonds

Dump it all in the blender, except the almonds, and mix till smooth. Stir in almonds, and pour it into an 8X8 pan lined with wax paper. Put it in the fridge to solidify; then cut it into small squares to serve.

Raw Coconut Fudge

I made some raw coconut oil fudge this weekend. Here's the original recipe:

1 1/2 cups coconut oil
1 1/2 cups raw honey
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, tastes fine without it)

Dump it all in the blender and mix till smooth. Pour it into a pan (I use a 9x13 glass pan) and let it set up. Depending on your climate and time of year you may need to refrigerate it if it's over 70 degrees or so in your kitchen. Cut into small pieces and try not to eat it all the first day.

********

I made a half recipe & put it in an 8X8 pan, and it was really thin. I just stirred it in a bowl. Next time, I will make a 2/3 recipe, use wax paper to line the pan, a little less salt & less honey. Also, I needed to keep it refrigerated.

This would be good with some raw almonds or shredded coconut.

November 1st & 2nd Food

I'm going to post my day's meals in groups of one or two days because the recipes will take up a lot of space :)

November 1st
Breakfast
Garbanzo Flour Pancakes

1 Cup of Authentic Foods Garbanzo Flour
1/4 cup Rice Protein Powder
2/3 Cup of Milk, Soy Milk, Rice Milk or Water
2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Eggs or Egg Whites
1/4 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
2 Tablespoons of Sugar or Maple Syrup
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla
1/4 Cup of Vegetable Oil or Melted Butter (I use canola or coconut oil)
1/4 Teaspoon of Xanthan Gum

In a bowl combine all dry ingredients: Flour, Protein Powder, Baking powder, salt, Maple Sugar, Xanthan Gum, and Vanilla Powder. Mix well. In another bowl beat eggs, milk, and oil. Add to first bowl and mix well.

For a more specialty pancake, add chopped apples, grapes or any other fruit. Preheat lightly coated griddle or skillet over medium heat.

For each pancake pour about a 1/4 cup of batter onto a hot griddle. Cook on first side until bubbles that form begin to pop and edges look dry. With a spatula, turn and cook until second side is rich golden brown.

Yum!

For lunch, Roy & I went out, and dinner was peanut butter & jelly (or banana for me).

November 2nd
Breakfast
Pumpkin Spice Donuts

1 1/4 C gluten free flour blend
1/2 C amaranth flour (we just did all gf flour blend)
1/2 C sugar
3/4 t xanthan gum
2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice (see recipe below to mix your own)
2 T butter or shortening of choice (I used coconut oil)
1 egg, beaten (or egg replacer)
1/4 C plain yogurt (I used mayonnaise)
1/2 C canned pumpkin puree

Mixed it all together in a bowl and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Fill a frying pan 1/2 way with oil (or use a deep fryer) and drop in balls or full size donuts. Cook each side about 60-90 seconds.

We made 2 different kinds of coating:

Spiced sugar coating:
1 C sugar
2 T pumpkin spice

Donut Glaze:
1 C sifted confectioner's sugar
1/4 t vanilla
3-4 t rice milk

Pumpkin Spice
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Lunch was Lentil Lemon Soup. I had some chicken broth that I had cooked up the last time I baked a whole chicken. The chicken was cooked in lemon & garlic, so I was looking for a lemony soup recipe. I found this one at All Recipes and changed it ever so slightly.

Lentil Lemon Soup
About 6 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 large onion, finely chopped
2-3 bay leaves
3 sprigs Italian flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils, rinsed and drained
1 large bunch Swiss chard - rinsed and cut into 1/2 inch slices
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
juice & zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt to taste

Throw it all into the crockpot and cook 8-10 hours on low.


For dinner, I had a Chicory salad and a bowl of cereal :)

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt a "rotisserrie" chicken in the crockpot. Stay tuned!