Tag Archives: Coconut

October 25, 2012 · 9:19 am

Day of Pumpkin

Halloween is almost upon us! Halloween is a favorite holiday in our house, so I thought I’d get in the spirit a little early with a day of pumpkin.

Yup. Pumpkin for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Two posts ago, I had some requests for pumpkin soup. I heard you loud and clear and here’s what I’ve come up with…

Take a fresh sugar pumpkin, cut it in half, and scoop out seeds and strings.

(For roasted pumpkin seeds: separate out the seeds, wash and dry them discarding the strings, and roast them at 350 for no more than 20 minutes with sweet or savory seasoning – a great snack for you pregnant gals!)

Put a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake the halves skin up, flesh down at 375 for about 30 minutes. You should be able to slice a knife through it.

Scoop out baked flesh and put in blender or food processor.

Add 1 tsp of ground vanilla bean, 1 tbsp of coconut crystals, a few shakes of nutmeg, and liberal shakes of cinnamon. I recommend purchasing organic spices, of course.

Add in water, coconut milk (I made my own – see below for the recipe!), or broth (if for soup), and blend until smooth. Amount of liquid needed depends on how much pumpkin there is – start with a little and just keep adding until pumpkin is smooth but not watery.

You now have a delicious, sweet base! (Alter spices to make it more or less sweet.)

First, I had it in my oatmeal for breakfast. I added in chia seeds, raspberries, oats, cacao nibs…you can get creative with it.

Then I ate it by the spoonful for a sweet snack throughout the day. It made a great dessert after lunch!

And lastly, I turned it into a soup for dinner. I put the puree back into a pot, added in all kinds of veggies – mushrooms, celery, carrots, cabbage, broccolini – and cooked it all for a few minutes. Then I added a few pieces of leftover chicken on top and…Voila! Soup! And a one-pot dish, no less!

Make sure to either use a bit of coconut milk or coconut oil in the mix so you absorb the vitamins. We cannot absorb all the vitamins and minerals in our veggies without a little fat. That’s especially important for my pregnant readers – getting the most out of your food is critical now!

Now for the Coconut Milk Recipe…

Combine 1 cup shredded unsweetened dried coconut and 3 cups hot water in a blender. Blend for about 2 minutes or until it looks creamy and you have a good froth on top. Then strain through a fine mesh strainer.

That’s it! Quick, easy, and without all the additives you’ll find in store-bought coconut milk.

I, of course, added a couple shakes of cinnamon (as always!) to the mix because I love cinnamon and it serves as an anti-microbial while adding a little hint of flavor. Double bonus!

See Adventures in Nut Milk for more nut milk recipes.

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Filed under Chicken, Coconut, Health, Recipe, Snacks, Soup, Spices, Vegetables

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May 8, 2012 · 3:24 pm

“I Think There’s Something To This Whole Organic Thing…”

…my husband said to me at the airport Sunday.

I shot him a funny look. “Yes. There is. Duh.”

Now, I don’t say “duh” to most people, but my husband does like to give me a hard time, so sometimes I have to get sarcastic right back at him. He listens to me talk ALL THE TIME about the merits of eating organic, cutting out the chemicals, the processed food, the genetically modified foods, and the foods that are a bit mysterious (I like to know everything that goes into my food). He’s a patient one.

And he knows I’m right, even if he isn’t as…hmm…shall we say…hardcore? as me. But yesterday he saw, in the itty bitty Tucson airport, quite a bit of organic snacks for sale. And he was surprised. And I was thrilled! Because not only did it give me some snack options for the flight home, but it was support for my argument. What’s my argument? That more and more people are wanting quality food with real ingredients and it should be available to us.

He was about to buy some non-organic cookie until the salesgirl said it was awful, so he put it down and bought this, at my insistence, instead:

And hooray! Justin’s Organic Peanut Butter Cups are amazingly delicious. With the exception of my tiny nibble, the hubby happily polished these off. And while these are still technically candy, they’re far better than any conventional candy you could buy – both in taste and in ingredients. We tried the milk chocolate because that’s what the hubby likes, but they make dark chocolate, as well. And I recommend dark chocolate if you like it, as it is healthier, of course. You can find these online (click on the links above) or in local health food stores.

For me, I chose three less “desserty” selections, two of which were granola bars from the company, 18 Rabbits. One was the Nibblin’ Apricot Granola Bar and the other was the Cherry Apricot Bunny Bar.

These two flavors taste very similar but are different in size, so if you want a smaller snack, go with the Bunny and if you want a heartier snack, go with the full size bar (it’s almost twice the size of the Bunny). Ingredients are great, texture is chewy (my favorite), flavor is oaty, and the apricots lend a nice pop of tartness to both bars. I did not eat both all at once – portion control, people! Look for them at your local health food store or buy online (click on links above). There are other flavors, too, but I only tried these.

Now, for the total fail:

I’ve seen Amande Coconut Almond Yogurt (soy-free and dairy-free) at Whole Foods and almost bought it many times. I figured airport hunger would be the perfect excuse to finally try it, as I wasn’t jazzed by the nutrition facts. Well, it’s official: I’m not a fan. It is way too sweet for me and kind of has a funny taste. I don’t recommend it.

But this just shows you how many organic options there actually were at this wee airport – and we didn’t even buy them all! I’m very happy to see organic products creeping into the most unlikely places. And very glad to be able to do this little product review for you folks. Keep your eye out for organic products where you least expect them.

Question of the Day: What is your favorite organic product?

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Filed under Chocolate, Coconut, Organic, Product Review, Snacks

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