Wild Rice Salad with Dried Cherries.

When my husband was first "diagnosed" with borderline diabetes 9 years ago... I found myself at Wal-mart in the cookbook section looking for anything to help me feed my husband... and not push him over the edge into diabetesland. Not a peaceful place to be. I found the Betty Crocker's Diabetes Cookbook... bought it... and tried to live by it for the next few months.

 

It helped, and had a lot of yummy stuff in it. Yummy stuff that left us satisfied. So, that's good. And of course now that I've educated myself even more on the subject - we've found something that works even better for us. Something that has changed my husbands "diagnosis" completely... and made those sugar levels just like yours and mine. Miracle? Somewhat. But I know it's because of some healthy eating on his part.

 

Anyhow, this is one we always come back to. And I love it because it 's good. But it reminds me of a time when I was close to loosing all hope and deeply concerned about the health of my most favorite person in the whole wide world. It's good to be reminded of where you've come from and how far you've traveled.

 

1 1/2 cups long-grain and wild rice

1 apple, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped (or craisins)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts, toasted

 

Cook rice according to directions, and spread evenly in thin layer on a large cookie sheet to cool. Let stand 10 to 12 minutes.

 

Mix apple, bell pepper, celery and cherries/craisins in a large bowl. Mix soy sauce, water, sugar and vinegar in small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add rice and soy sauce mixture to apple mixture. Gently toss until coated. Add peanuts. Gently toss.

Fruity Kale Salad with Coconut Lime Dressing.

When I saw this on Crysta's blog, I immediatly wanted to try it. It sounded so, so good. And it was. I was totally worried about the kale tasting bitter... but knew being soaked in the lime juice for a while would break it down. I didn't know how my kids would like it... but knew there was enough of what they like in there they'd be happy. And then for Shayne... he's a man... and salads typically aren't a main meal for him - but he really liked this.

6 large leaves of fresh kale, rinsed and dried

1 banana, chopped
3 strawberries, sliced
4 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 half of an avocado, cubed
1 clementine, or half of an orange peeled and divided
1 apple, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro (chopped fresh is best, but can use dried)
toasted & sliced almonds {my addition}


dressing
1/4 cup dried coconut
2 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon agave
1 teaspoon flaxseed

Chop up kale into bite sized pieces and toss with a pinch or 2 of salt. Mix up the ingredients for the dressing in a separate small bowl until well blended.

Massage the dressing (using your very clean hands) into the leaves until the kale becomes wilty and well coated with the dressing.

Now, in a separate bowl, take all of the chopped fruit (except for the avocado) and toss with cilantro. Mix fruit with the wilted kale.

Top with the chopped avocado and a little more of the dried coconut & toasted almonds.

from my friend Crysta who got it from ManifestVegan

Chia Energy Porridge.

Don't judge this by the picture... I almost didn't post it because it totally looks unappetizing. But trust me, it is goooood! Maybe a good sub for the morning oatmeal, but I am for sure liking it for after school snack!

1/2 cup hemp/almond milk
1 1/2 tablespoons chia seed**(bulk at Central Market)
1/2 apple, shredded
1 tablespoon raisins
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Stir together chia and milk. Set aside for 15 mins, or as long as overnight for the chia to swell. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Garnish with anything you wish...

belly biters: me, ava, nolan - love it... shayne has yet to try... and Coco wasn't texturing it

 

Thank you Crysta for the intro and Sweetly Raw for posting it!

 

**Sweetly Raw says... "It should be dubbed "the wonder seed" - chia is packed with quality protein, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and is the richest known plant source of omega-3. In addition it is easy to digest and can be stored for long periods of time without going rancid (unlike other nuts/seeds, particularly flax). Throw some chia into liquid overnight and you've got the base for an excellent breakfast in the morning."

Mesclun Salad with Tarragon, Grapes, and Apple

Shayne was not excited when he came home and saw that we were having salad, leftover soup and muffins for dinner tonight. Mainly because he was worried about the salad. When he took his first bite, it was "Now that is good!" Score.

For vinaigrette

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons oil substitute
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled


For salad
1/4 cup sliced almonds
20 red seedless grapes
1 crisp apple such as Fuji
8 ounces mesclun (mixed baby lettuces) {red & green lettuce}

In a large bowl whisk together mustard and vinegar. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Whisk in tarragon and salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a shallow baking pan toast almonds in middle of oven until pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes, and cool. Halve grapes. Core apple and cut into 16 wedges. Add mesclun to vinaigrette and toss to coat well.

Divide greens and apple slices among 4 plates and top with grapes, cheese, and almonds.

belly biters: all loved, except Coco because she's still figuring out lettuce

saw it on Anne's blog

who got it off Epicurious

Snack Wrap.

We're in need of a little snack switch-me-up around here. The kids are tiring of veggie cookies and muffins. So I thought these would be a winner.

With Ava's sass lately, she's not a good judge of goodness.

And Nolan will eat most anything - especially if I feed it to him (I know, it's seriously pathetic that I still sometimes feed my 3, almost 4 year old!).

And then there's Coco. One tuff critic. And she liked these. All except the apple peel. Somehow she managed to get that off and spit that, and only that out.

whole wheat wrap/tortilla

natural peanut butter

sliced bananas

thinly sliced apples

pitted dates, chopped

ground cinnamon

Assemble how you like it and as much as you like it... yum. And obviously you could take this concept and take it anywhere your little heart desires. My kids just love things in wraps.

Apple Walnut Surprise.

This is a great snack. The first time I made this, I did it exactly as the recipe calls for - with the raisins. The kids weren't a fan. Tried again - sans raisins - and sans day-ahead prep time, and they love it! After I make it, I keep them in little rubbermaid containers so they can grab one for a snack. Perfect!

1 cup raisins or currents

1/2 cup water

8-10 apples, peeled and cored

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

4 heaping tablespoons ground flax seeds

1 1/2 heaping tablespoons ground cinnamon

Soak raisins or currents in the water in a container with a closed top overnight in the refrigerator to soften.

Next day: pour off the water into a pot with a tight lid and add the peeled and cored apples. Let simmer over a low flam for 7 minutes. Pour the apples and the little liquid that remains off into a chopping bowl or hand chopper and dice up the softened apples into small pieces.

Mix the apples, raisins, walnuts, flax seeds, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well. Store in refrigerator to serve for meals and snacks.

Disease-Proof Your Child, pg 204