Wow!

So--changes to the site. Obviously--if you frequent the blog you will notice right now we have gone back--back--back in time.

I am not sure why--to be candid with you all. It is pretty overwhelming a thought to have--I may have lost a years worth of blog information! Yikes! Why--don't know. However--as I try and sort it out I will try and give rebirth to the blog as well. my fitness and healthy lifestyle has not changed--just my free time to blog. :D

In the interim why not join our facebook page for the diet and fitness discussions that we have weekly.

Squeaky Gourmet Facebook Page

tractors and tire swings: Review: Squeaky Gourmet (and a Giveaway)

tractors and tire swings: Review: Squeaky Gourmet (and a Giveaway): "Fifteen years ago I met an amazing woman during the most trying period of my life. We both lost a son within a few months of each other and..."

Basic Veggie Burger

You can go to the market and pick up veggie burgers for about $2 per burger--complete with soy additives and MSG. I am not interested in eating much soy at all because of the suspected interference with thyroid function and over all hormone balance. If I, as an adult, do not want to eat it I won't feed it to my family either.

So, I got to thinking last week--perhaps I can make a basic veggie burger that I will like and people will also like--novel concept I know. So, I cooked up some brown rice, got out a can of black beans and stared at them--could it really be as simple as I was thinking it could be? Yeah, it was--I do not know why I over think things so much.

Basic Black Bean Veggie Burger

makes 12

16 ounce can black beans rinsed and drained well

1 cup cooked brown rice

5 egg whites

1/4 cup shredded carrots-squeezed to remove excess liquid

1/4 cup frozen corn thawed

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

pinch of salt

Add all the ingredients aside from the rice to a bowl and blend with a hand blender--or add all ingredients to a food processor. Once the mixture is blended completely stir in rice. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes, I did this in hopes the rice would grab some of the liquid of the mix and firm it up some.

Heat a non stick skillet on medium high heat. Add about 1/2 cup of the burger to the pan and cook on each side for about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and top with salsa and avocado.

Other Good Ideas:

--Use red beans instead of black

--add any vegetable you want--be sure to remove as much liquid as possible

--cook ahead and store in the fridge for weekly lunches

Wholegrain Pumpkin cookies

Sometimes we just want to make cookies and we never have the ingredients we want in the house. Other times our children can come home from school and remind you about the cookies they volunteered you to bring to the school--the next morning!

I do not know about you, but I always want to bring something fun and healthy--you know other people will be bringing the artificially flavored junk that kids (OK and parents) really enjoy and it is nice to not add to that and to show that healthy tastes fantastic when you know how to do it!

Jamie Wilson, the co-author to Squeaky Gourmet, has come up with a healthy yummy solution to the cookie conundrum!

Wholegrain Pumpkin cookies

makes 3 dozen

1 package Bob’s Red Mill Spice Apple cake mix

1 c pumpkin

1 egg

Approx ½- ¾ c water

1 c semisweet choc chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients well and drop on lightly sprayed cookie sheet in smallish drops. I used my regular sized spoons for this. Cook for approximately 15 minutes until browned lightly on the edges.

Other Good Ideas:

--use cranberries instead of chocolate chips

--add in some lemon zest and nuts

These are great to bake ahead and freeze--if you can resist eating them all!

Protein Biscotti

Sometimes I just go to the store with absolutely no planning involved. Well, I PLAN to go to the store but I am, on occasion, shopping on a whim. Yesterday was one of those days. I had been reading about protein bars and how to make them, comparing ingredients in power bars, kashi bars and thinking about my gluten free life and seeing how I could put that all together. I guess it would be similar to when I am drawing or doing a creative writing project. The food items are the canvas and tools and it is up to them to come together to be something--I just hope it is something palatable!

In the organic whole food section of the store I purchased dates, almonds, dried coconut, dried cranberries, and more gluten free oats. At home I knew I had this protein powder in the pantry that was really unfriendly in most of the recipes I had tried with it. I guess I am not a banana creme lover after all--don't tell the monkeys.

So, back at home I go--ingredients in the car and ideas in my head. First I knew I wanted to soak the almonds, oats and dates. The oats to remove some sort of acid a friendly blogger mentioned to me--what acid it was--no idea (details escape my ADHD brain). Perhaps she will be kind enough to chime in to remind me! I had to soak the dates to make them easier to use as a paste and the almonds were to be soaked to make them less flavorful--ok, just kidding, I soaked the nuts because it is the thing to do! ( I forgot why)

I am super glad I did soak all of them because the results were a benefit to the end results. The oats with the dates made a fantastic paste that just blended so well together. The soaked almonds added a different texture to the end result that made it feel more earth like and natural, more wholesome. I liked it! I soaked them all for 30 minutes, however, the dates were soaked in hot water, nuts and oats in cold water.

After the soaking and draining, I removed the pits from the dates and added those along with the soaked oats to the hand blender blender. (Dear Santa if you can see this, please may I have a food processor for the holidays?)The oats were really in no need of draining as they plumped right up and absorbed more water than I thought they even would! Once these were fully blended into a paste I added that paste to the stand mixer. I tossed in some dried cranberries, some dried unsweetened coconut and an egg and let that blend together.

While that was mixing I took out my handy dandy coffee grinder (which has never seen a coffee bean) and ground up those soaked almonds into a chucky meal of sorts. You can see how there are still considerable chunks in the grinder along with tiny little almond fragments. I added this right into the stand mixer as well. Then I threw in the protein powder and some cinnamon then watched as it made the dough. I was apprehensive and curious--like a mad scientist waiting to see if the creature would live. I thought about short circuiting the outlet to give the bowl a charge but thought better of it. I then remembered to add some xanthan gum to the batch to make sure once it was baked it would still all be as one versus a bunch of weird lumps of granola or something.

I lightly greased a pie pan ( do not use a pie pan, use a 9x9 pan) I dumped my new creation into the pan. You can click the image of the blob to see what it looks like. Very, um, blob like with lumps of goodies poking out. I then wet my hands (if you cook gluten free you should know this trick) and began smoothing out the dough with my wet hands. Wet hands do not get the dough stuck to them. Nifty, right?

I then took the pan and placed it in the oven and laughed maniacally while rubbing my hands together. I was alone in the house so this was OK behavior. I baked this for 35 minutes, until the edges were brown and the top golden. When I sliced this up and took some out I thought--hey these look like Biscotti! So, I plated some and took some pictures and then threw them onto a non-stick pan and placed them back in the oven to toast them up.

You could certainly serve these after the first baking, they smelled so wonderful and had great texture--chewy and crunchy. I just wanted to see what they would do if I baked them again. I left them in for 25 minutes with the oven still on 350 degrees and checked them for burning while they cooked.

I was very pleased with the end result, as were the kids and the hubby. This is a keeper for sure and I will be making these in batches to freeze for breakfast bars. These will now be a part of a healthy breakfast in our New Hampshire home!

Biscotti Protein Bars
serves 9
13 whole dates
1 cup oats
1 1/2 cups protein powder
1 cup raw almonds
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 large egg
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 TBL cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla

Calories Per 2 cookies-360
Fat- 14 grams
Carbohydrates- 30 grams
Fiber- 7 grams
Protein - 32 grams

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