Scottish Toffee Pudding Cake

Scottish Toffee Pudding Cake

1C pitted dates

1 C water

1 tsp baking soda

Combine above ingredients in your blender jar and blend until smooth, then extra 90 seconds (or use Hot Soup setting on your Blendtec).  Then add to jar:

1/4 C butter (1/2 stick)

3/4 C sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

Blend until creamy and lastly add:

3/4 C flour

 and blend just until mixed.  It should be thin like batter.

Pour into a greased 11x7 pan and bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes.

When it's done, set the cake to cool for a few minutes while you make the toffee sauce (below).  Once a little cool, slice the cake into about one inch cubes.  Separate cake pieces with a fork to pour the sauce in between each one and around the edges.

"The Sauce"

3/4 C brown sugar

1/2 C butter (1 stick)

3/4 C heavy cream

Add above ingredients to sauce pan and heat until thick without boiling.  If you have any sauce left over after pouring between the pieces, just pour it on top.  If you make and slice the cake ahead of time, you can make it piping hot again if you pour the sauce on it just before serving.  Optionally, you can save some sauce to do a drizzle on the plate as well.  For the photo above, I did a drizzle with some of the heavy cream that was left.

Note:  I love this recipe.  It is an old, Scottish family recipe of Chef Brad, the Grain Chef who I met at the BYU Education Week classes on whole grain nutrition.  He has many great recipes,and most of them are much healthier!  I actually attended a private cooking class at the Bosch Kitchen Center with a personal trainer friend when this was revealed.  Fun memories.  

There's no question that this is a "treat" best made only once or twice a year.  I have tried to modify it and make a healthier version, but it's my family's consensus that it's just not worth it.  The Sauce really can't be modified well, and using whole grain flour instead just changes the texture.  My advice: make this as dessert, THOROUGHLY ENJOY YOUR SMALL PORTION, and invite friends  over to help you finish it so it doesn't stay in your kitchen after that first night.

If you want to feel a little better about it, add a scoop of Blendfresh Green to the batter (you won't taste it with everything else going on), and when your done, drink a tall glass of water with a scoop of Blendfresh Spouted Fiber Blend to bind with some of the fat and minimize the damage!

And Bliadhna Mhath Ùr (Gaelic for Happy New Year!)

"Perfectly Chocolate" Cake

"Perfectly Chocolate" Cake

Add the following to your blender jar (use Wildside if you have a Blendtec blender);

2 C sugar

1 3/4 C flour

3/4 C cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 scoop Blendfresh Green (optional)

1/2 - 1 scoop Blendfresh Sprouted Fiber blend (optional)

Pulse a few times until the dry ingredients are well mixed.  Then add;

2 eggs

1 C milk

1/2 C coconut oil

2 tsp vanilla

Mix for about 40 seconds in blender, then add

1 C boiling water

Mix together and pour into a sprayed a 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350º for 35-40 minutes.  As an option add up to a cup of walnuts.  

For frosting I like to sprinkle a 1/2 - 1 Cup of chocolate chips on top of the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.  After about a minute the chips will be melted enough to spread over the cake with a butter knife and cool as cake topping.

The Blendfresh Green scoop you will not notice the taste of.  It will just add nutrition to what could possibly be a dessert of very little nutritional value - just a fun treat once in a while, which this should be.  If you add 1/2 scoop of Fiber you probably won't notice it, but if you add a whole scoop of fiber you may want to add 3 Tbsp of water to keep your cake from becoming dry.  Use this rule of thumb with any cake or baked item that you want to add the extra Fiber to.

This is my adaptation of the "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake from the Hershey's Recipe Collection Cookbook, 2008.

Full Power Caesar Dressing

Full Power Caesar Dressing

1 C olive oil (or Mediterranean blend oil)
1/4 C water
2 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is best, I used bottled this time)
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar (or sub your own if you don't have it)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard (I didn't have any so I used regular mustard)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 large egg yolk*
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 C Parmesan cheese (fresh is best, I used a bottled version this time)
2 Scoops Blendfresh Greens (raw, whole food, powdered fruit and veggie mix) (optional)

Add ingredients to your blender jar and blend until creamy.  Its best to let the flavors sit and come together for a day.  It can also be a dip.  Because of the use of raw egg yolk (as is traditional for Caesar dressing), use within a week or according to common sense and be aware that *Consuming raw or undercooked eggs or egg products can increase your risk of foodborne illness.  

This is the new favorite at my house!  My teens who were almost dragging their feet to eat their salad are now looking at me and asking "What did you do?!".  I'm hearing "This is the best salad dressing I've ever had!".  High praise from the family dinner table :)

I was experimenting with ways to use Blendfresh Green raw food powder.  I've recently been speaking more with chefs and caterers about using Blendfresh from a taste perspective.  It really adds so much more depth and dimension to recipes.

This dressing I've adapted from the Blendtec cookbook.  At first I made it without Blendfresh and tasted.  Then I added one scoop of Blendfresh Greens and liked it better, but thought the flavors would be good with a little more intensity.  So I added a second scoop, and that's the magic!  It's hard to describe how a hint of sweet from the lime and a touch of asparagus and other raw vegetables come together to create this whole amazing flavor.

Instinctively we add oil based dressings to our green salads.  The good oils actually aid in the uptake of minerals found in green plants.  So here is an even more powerful way to do it - add the veggies right into the dressing!  Enjoy and comment below how you like it.

My favorite ways to use Blendfresh!

I have loved plants for nutrition for many years.  The idea just sits right with me.  The One who made our amazing bodies also made the perfect fuel for them, and in pretty colors as a bonus!  Each color does something different in the body.

When I found Blendfresh, it was a sigh of relief.  Clean, pesticide free, non-GMO, raw, whole, good foods, preserved gently by removing the water so they can be picked when they are ripe, and they won't spoil before I can use them.  Plus I love to save money!

I want to help as many people enjoy great health as possible, so once you have your own Blendfresh, how do you actually USE it in real life?  Here are some suggestions for my favorite ways.  I'm sure I'll discover more as I go!

Reds
Beautiful!  Add a ruby color to any dish and a variety of tastes come into play.
Sprinkle on Eggs
Sprinkle on Oatmeal
Salsa
Pizza Sauce
Enchilada Sauce
Soups
Add to chili
Smoothies
Raspberry salad dressing
Syrups
Yogurt for a fruit dip
Use as a food coloring
Smoothie
In coconut water as a workout recovery drink
Add to red jello
Add to cranberry sauce
Flavor chutneys or sauces
Add to chunky dips

Purples
Add to any smoothie that may have a brownish color from adding greens
Oatmeal
Let kids lick fingers and use like Fun Dip
Berry salad dressings
Use like sugar over cold cereal
Make a flavored water
Roll with peanut butter, oats, honey, Protein and a little water for an energy bar
Add to smoothie
Add to cottage cheese
Stir into yogurt

Orange
Use in scrambled eggs or a baked frittata
Use in enchilda sauce
Use in any orange soup like pumpkin, sweet potato, taco soup, etc
Sprinkle on cheese quesadillas for extra nutrition and taste
Use in meatballs
Add to macaroni and cheese
Add to scalloped potato dishes
Use in warm water first like tea
Use a s a pre-workout mild energy drink
Use as a season salt on meat or veggies
Add to sweet breads like pumpkin
Serve over baked chicken

Greens
Anywhere you can sneak them in!
Stir into scrambled eggs or frittata (baked eggs)
A scoop to any smoothie
Make a flavored Mayo
Keep in a salt shaker and sprinkle on foods to season
Sprinkle on quesadilla
Add to box brownie mix or chocolate cake
Add to green soups like spinach or broccoli
Add to lasagne
Sprinkle a little into the middle of a peanut butter jelly sandwich!
Drink with water if I know I haven't eaten well during the day (not delicious, but doable)
Add to green jello

Protein
In smoothies!
Make a high protein almond milk
Make a high protein hot chocolate
Protein pancakes
Substitute for part of the flour in sweet recipes
Make energy balls by adding peanut butter, a little water, Purples and oats
Experiment!

Fiber
Stir into a tall glass of water and drink quickly before bed
Add to a thick smoothie and pour into cups to make pudding
Substitute for powdered sugar when making fudge (if the chocolate in the recipe is sweetened)
Thicken soups and gravies
Alfredo Sauce
Add to cake recipes or boxed cornbread mix
Add to a smoothie with protein and a veggie color as a meal replacement (very filling)
Use half a scoop in water with kids and call it a "Fiber Racing Drink".  Let them race to see who finishes theirs first!

Probiotic
Add 1/2 tsp. to a smoothie once per day.

Caring for your Blendfresh
It's best to refrigerate these items.  All are raw and nutrients will be best preserved in low temperatures.  It is recommended to use the bottle within 90 days of opening.  There are no fillers or preservatives, so once oxygen enters the container, fragile nutrients can begin to deteriorate.  If unopened, it is suggested to use within 3 years for optimal nutrition, but they are shelf stable for 20 years.  Consider adding them to your home emergency storage.

What to look for in your "greens" supplement

It's becoming trendy to supplement you diet with "greens".  Most people are aware that they aren't getting their 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies that the FDA suggests.  Over the last several years several companies have begun to make powdered "greens" available, but like anything some are better than others.  How can you tell if you're getting a good one?

1.  Read the label.  If it has ANY ingredient that you don't understand or can't pronounce, leave it alone.  If prepared properly, greens do not require and fillers, binders, or preservatives to extend their shelf life.

2.  Added sugars or flavors.  I recently read the label of a company that claimed to have an all natural product, but the first ingredient was "apple flavor powder" and then later it listed "apple powder".  No one could answer my question as to what the flavor powder actually was.  Read carefully.

3.  Pesticide free.  Being pesticide free is expensive to growers, so it becomes a big deal from a marketing perspective.  If your greens have no pesticides on them, they will be shouting about it on the label!  Remember, the more produce you intake, the more you will be adding pesticides to your diet unless you actively decide to choose something else.

4.  Non-GMO.  GMO is short for "genetically modified organism" which means that someone in a lab has messed with the plant.  It is not the same thing that originally grew in nature.  This is how you can get strawberries the size of your fist in Costco sometimes.  The book "Wheat Belly" talks about how the wheat plant has been changed from 9 to 42 chromosomes through this process, and is responsible for a large portion of food allergies being seen now.  This genetic modification is not even approved officially for human consumption!  Be careful what Franken-fruit you allow into your body.

5.  Raw.  To make this claim the manufacturers must be sure that during processing the plant has not been subjected to temperatures that will kill the enzymes or denature nutrients that are naturally occurring.  During a freeze-drying process, produce is frozen, processed at temperatures over 100 degrees at least, then subjected to -40 degrees typically as water is removed.  This is not gentle on the plant.  Freezing water in plants causes damage (just look at any garden after the first frost).  To get the benefits of a raw plant the water must be removed at low temperatures and carefully monitored.

6.  Refrigerate after opening.  If a product has no preservatives, it's best to keep it in the refrigerator to preserve fragile nutrients.  A manufacturer should suggest that on the label if it would be important for their product.

7.  Any FDA claims.  It is a rigorous process to get approved to print an FDA claim on a label.  If you see any health claims like "may reduce the risk of cancer" on a label, you can be sure that the maker of that product has been through many hoops so as not to be shut down for making false claims.

8.  Is there variety?  Ideally the human diet should be diverse.  Animals most like us will use 200 and more different types of plants in their diet.  The body requires so many different minerals for all its different processes.  So instead of getting only the same 5-12 plant sources that most people do week after week, seek to expand the number of different kinds of plants you take in.  Your supplement should include several different kinds, some leafy, some non-leafy.  Spinach and kale alone do not meet all of your needs.

9.  Do you eat grass?  I don't, but I know that many greens companies focus all or in part on grasses or dried grass juices as a basis for their green powders.  While there may be value there, I try to step back and use my common sense to decide "would I really eat that?".  I can't see myself looking at a meadow and saying "yummy!".  I'm naturally more drawn to colorful fruit, or zucchini or cabbage or special shapes and colors from plants that seem to say they are there to be eaten.  And if I wouldn't eat it in real life, why would I constantly put it into my body as part of my health regimen?  You make the call on this one.

I hope I've given you food for thought here that will cause you to stop and evaluate your choice of greens supplement.  If you aren't currently adding greens to your diet, I highly suggest you do daily.  Minerals from plants, particulary calcium, are absorbed differently and very bio-available, as compared to animal sources such as dairy.  Keep your bones strong and dense, keep iron, magnesium and all the other precious minerals your body needs easily accessible so when you need it for better aging, more energy and optimal health, you have it.

Here is an example of a clean label, my favorite brand.

Click here to learn more

Blendfresh raw, whole food powders

Want something that makes getting your fruits and veggies easier? I have just found this and am IN LOVE! Raw, whole food powders, pesticide free, non-GMO, soy free, gluten free, dairy free, vegan. Just the good stuff you actually want in your body. I have been sneaking scoops of this into our smoothies the last two weeks and no one in my family seems to mind they are eating so many veggies! This is the new foods line put out by Blendtec and one of the reasons

 I'm so excited to work with them.

What happened was that Blendtec, the maker of the world's most advanced blenders, would make a great product and then their completely satisfied customer would be gone for 8-10 years enjoying their blender.  Millions of people worldwide know this brand for quality, and they all go and buy various qualities of produce to use for their smoothies.

Blendtec saw an opportunity to better serve their customers by spinning off a sister company that would focus on high quality foods that could be used with their amazing blenders.  As soon as I knew this line was affiliated with a 200 million dollar company and a 38 year reputation, I wanted to know more.  There is no way a stable company like this would put out a substandard product.  

The more I learned, the more excited I got.  Yes, several companies sell greens powders, I've been buying them for years.  But how many are actually raw?  Dried with light instead of heat to keep the enzymes unharmed and active?  And are greens all we really need?  What about the orange, red and purple colored vegetables - we are supposed to "eat a rainbow" of color right?

I was even more impressed when I read the label.  "Bell pepper, rhubarb, strawberries, cranberries..."  twelve ingredients.  Only fruits and vegetables.  No fillers so that they will make more money selling a larger container of product.  No binders so it looks artificially pretty.  No preservatives so they can keep an abnormally long shelf life.  This is just a bottle of food with the water carefully removed.  Wow.

Because it is a fresh, raw food they suggest keeping it in your fridge and using within 90 days of opening.  I love looking in my fridge the last couple of weeks, wonder what I should make, and then having a beautiful bottle remind me and inspire me to make a nutritious smoothie.  Sounds corny, I know, but that's what's been happening.  And with zero arguments from kids or hubby!

I'll post more detailed articles soon on the other great products in the line, but here's a teaser; a probiotic complete with blackstrap molasses as a pre-biotic, so your friendly germs are still alive when you open your bottle.  A fiber blend of sprouted nuts and seeds that meets FDA requirements for soluble and insoluble fiber so that they can say it "lowers cholesterol" right on the label.  And last but not least a delicious (which is rare) vegan protein powder, with not one but 8 different protein sources for a complete amino acid profile.  Lighter on the digestive system than traditional whey and made of whole foods - you can actually read and understand the label!  I could go on and on, and I will, soon.  Just know that if you need a solution for more nutrition quickly and simply (and I forgot to even mention that it even costs you less than fresh produce!) just find out more about this!  I've made a YouTube video link so click here to see me explain it in more detail.  It even goes along with a Blendtec blender discount program if you need one of those.  

So think on it, and have a great day.  I'm going to go mix up a glass of Purples!

The Secret to Getting the Most from your Green Smoothie

Green smoothies have become a popular way to get more fresh fruit and veggies and all their wonderful parts into our diets.  If you aren't sold, you should try one!  As if more produce wasn't reason enough in itself, when we do this we are sneaking in all the fiber, extra water and phytonutrients that come with them for very minimal effort.  My kids have grown up associating a glass like this with sweet deliciousness instead of "yuck,green!".

 TIP:  If you have a hard time with the color, try putting it in a colored cup and drink with a straw, or just add blueberries for a lovely shade of purple every time.

Unless your veggies are fried or coated in a not-so-good-fat dressing, we want LOTS of them in your diet. Making smoothies is one easy and creative way to quickly put the raw, fresh version straight into your body. 

 My recipe:  I use a full size blender filled with about 2 cups of water, a big handful or two of greens, some ice or frozen fruit to chill and then top off with fresh fruit.  The secret ingredient I like to add to make the most of the iron in my greens is coconut milk.  

I buy it in a liter box from Costco (I like the So Delicious brand).  Doesn't that just add extra fat calories you ask?  It does, but coconut fat is special - medium chain fatty acids like what is in breast milk - good for the human body; joint, skin, hair, brain, etc.  That in itself is a topic for another day. 

So yes, I want to add coconut oil to my diet as a supplement, but specifically with my greens?  Absolutely!  Part of what makes them green is the iron.  Quick story - during my pregnancies I suffered from a mild case of anemia, which means lack of iron in the blood.  In real life that means there weren't enough little molecules  roaming around my bloodstream to carry the oxygen fast enough for me.  For example, if I stood up too quickly my brain would take a quick brake (the little oxygen was going to my muscles instead), and my vision would go black, hearing would temporarily disappear, and if I was lucky I could steady myself on a chair or a wall until it returned in a few seconds, or feel my way down to the floor without fainting.  That's a fun side note, and hopefully one you have never experienced, but the point is that ABSORBING the iron from my diet was very important for my body.  It is for most women in general.   

Greens are a great source of iron - more on that is coming.  And according to a Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry research article "iron utilization and iron absorbtion was greater in diets in which the fat was supplied as coconut oil".  A stimulating read to be sure, but the point is that you'll actually use the iron from your diet better when combined with coconut oil.  So why not pack one more punch in that smoothie?  Yay for good fats!

So take a risk and try it out.  My bet is you'll enjoy the creamy texture it adds and you'll feel good about your food choice all day!

ps-
If you love medical data and studies here is the link of the article - enjoy!
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf60198a036