Hallelujah Acres Diet

Dh and I have almost done it - we are hovering close to the brink of veganism! H-Acres has a free program for 60 days of weight loss, and one for optimal health (and one coming soon for exercise.) There is no spiritual or moral message from me here - we are just tired of being sick and tired. I have studied healthy cooking for a number of years, and that path has slowly led us to less and less animal products. I do still have some beef from the half steer we bought from a known source last year, and I would have dairy goats again in a second if possible, but for the most part we are sticking to veganism and as much raw food as possible - and we are liking it!

Our first motivation to take this step is Dh's high cholesterol. Cholesterol only comes from animal products, so it makes sense to remove these from our diet for at least the next several months (He was not going to make this dietary change on his own.) And I need to loose weight. While I had seen some (tiny) past progress, I was stuck for a month or so at the same weight, and I still felt sluggish and tired a lot.

We are now on Day 36 or the 60 days and feeling great. I am sleeping better, have a lot more energy, and am losing weight. Granted we aren't perfect in keeping to the diet - but then they do say that we need to fit the diet to us - not be a slave to the diet. We will see in June when Dh has his cholesterol rechecked how we are really doing.

Even if you don't use the full program - if you click on the title above it will take you to the HA site and they have scads of great, healthy recipes. Even just adding in a few of these changes is beneficial. The green smoothies are fantastic and so good for you.

Trail Mix Apple Salad

Just made this up from a recipe in Reminisce Magazine - it is great ~ and healthy.  I think I will be making this for the week I bring the snack for my Friday night Bible study.

Trail Mix Apple Salad

2 apples, chopped into nice bite sized chunks

1 and 1/2 t. lemon juice

Mix these first 2 ingredients, then add:

4T. chopped walnuts

2T. sunflower kernels

2T. dried cranberries (Craisins)

4t. honey

(the recipe calls for 2t. flaxseed - I didn't have this so didn't add it)

1/4t. ground cinnamon

*Note - I get my nuts and seeds at a local SDA health store - they are great quality and low prices. The honey is from a local apiary.  This recipe easily adjusts to any amount of servings.

Biscuits and Gravy Morning...

This was a first for me. I have never made good biscuits - and I have never made gravy at all. That has now all changed.  They were a big hit with the family! (The picture is not especially appetizing - but how do you make biscuits covered in gravy look good unless you photograph for Cracker Barrel?) 

Here are the recipes. 

From our local newspaper - the syndicated column "The Amish Cook". 

Homemade Biscuits from Elizabeth Coblentz (2001)

2 cups sifted four (I didn't sift)

1 T. of baking powder

1 t. salt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 cup milk

1 t. sugar

In  a large bowl sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Drop by T. onto a greased cookie sheet - or fill 12 muffin tins 2/3 full. (This is what I did and it worked great.) Bake 18-20 minutes at 375. When done the biscuits will look a light golden brown in color. Makes 12, 3 inch biscuits. 

While the biscuits are cooking - make your gravy. 

Mother's Sausage Gravy from Lovina Eicher (daughter of Elizabeth Coblentz)

1 pound (bulk) sausage, browned

4 T. flour

1 qt milk (I only used 3 and 1/2 cups - I like it a bit thicker.)

salt and pepper to taste

Brown sausage in an iron skillet. Pour off grease. Add flour and brown lightly. Add milk and stir until smooth. (I added only 2 cups and then gradually increased it another cup and a half until it was the consistency I liked.) Bring to a boil and add more milk until the desired consistency or thickness. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

*Note: I do like a slight kick in my gravy - so I may try adding a pinch of red pepper next time. 

Chocolate Pie

This is based on a recipe I found in a Taste of Home magazine - but I changed so many things, that I can truthfully call it my own creation. 

In a double boiler melt 4 or 5 squares (1 oz. each) of semi-sweet chocolate along with about 1 tsp. of shortening. Hold to one side. You can adjust this to personal preferences.

Bake a single bottom pie crust. (about 10 mins. @ 450 degrees) Be sure to use a fork to make holes in the crust so it won't puff. I often use the Pillsbury pie crusts you get in the refrigerated section of the grocery store - but you can make your own single crust too. Let it cool. 

In a bowl place:

6 oz. of softened cream cheese

1/4 c. butter, softened

1 and 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar (10X powdered sugar)

1/3 c. baking cocoa

2 T. milk (I have used 1T. powdered soy milk and 2 T. water or you could use canned milk - and I suspect just 2 T. of water would be okay too. )

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix it all smooth. Then scoop into the chocolate mixture most of a regular sized container of Cool Whip and fold. Sometimes I also use fresh whipped cream. (Then you would fold in about 2-3 c. after whipping ) 

Meanwhile....

Pour in most of the melted chocolate (to taste) into the cooled crust and spread it over the crust. (This is the secret bottom layer you don't see in the picture above!)  Let the chocolate cool for a few minutes to set.  

Then scoop in the whipped chocolate filling mixture. You can use a pastry bag to make a fancy design on top with the rest of the whipped cream - or just drop it on as I did in the picture. Then drizzle with the remaining melted chocolate. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Keep any leftovers in the refrigerator. 

Dinner

I had to use up some hamburger I had unthawed, and the weather was hot, so I didn't want to heat up the oven - so I made this concoction. It turned out pretty good, everyone enjoyed it. 

Saute an onion (I hate having a leftover piece of an onion, so I always just use one whole onion for any recipe.) and brown the hamburger in a little olive oil. I use my cast iron frying pan for this. Then I just sliced up 5 red potatoes, skin and all and added that in with a drizzle of olive oil over the top. I flavored it all with salt, pepper, garlic (lots of garlic), a tiny dash of red pepper, some paprika, and a dash or two of Teryaki sauce.  I laid a lid over the top of the frying pan (it has no actual lid, I just use one from another pan that fits down over the food) and let it cook. I stirred it once in a while. In about 20 minutes it was done (when the potatoes are soft.)  A quick and easy one pan meal. 

Rolled Oats

We have had slightly cooler weather here in central Florida - and the boxed cereal is long gone (see the Oct. Challenge posts). In order to accomodate #3 son's leaving time for work, I have had to get up early to cook up the oatmeal (oops, rolled oats). That is a good thing - 1.) I am up early and 2) Ds gets a good hot breakfast. My definition of early is 6 AM, so don't feel sorry for me - I should be up then, but had gotten lazy and was sleeping in until 7. I like being up and getting everyone breakfast, so horray for the October Challenge!

I buy my rolled oats in a 6 gallon pail from BreadBeckers. http://breadbeckers.com/ We have a local co-op group here that orders 4 times a year. I don't order every time, but usually at least twice a year. In fact the next order is due in a week or so, so I will need to check my stock of rolled oats, rice, and wheat berries. The 6 gallon pail of the rolled oats lasts me about 4 winter months (I use them for cookies, and other recipes too) and I generally go through a second bucket for the rest of the 8 months of the year.

Cooking details - Plain rolled oats take a looooong time to cook, and that is not a good morning for me. I have found that if I soak the oats overnight, then in the morning they cook up fast and creamy. For our family I put 4 to 4 1/2 cups of rolled oats in a pan and sprinkle with a little bit of salt. Cover them with water so that the water is about a 1/2 inch or more above the oats. No exact measurments needed. Put the lid on the pan and leave on the counter to soak overnight. In the morning I add a bit more water (I don't measure water, just add as needed - so that it looks right) and turn the burner on to medium heat. At this time I also add some pure maple syrup and brown sugar to the pan. Sometimes I will add cinnamon too. I stir it every so often. In about 10 minutes it is creamy and hot - Done! Most of the family likes to eat their oatmeal plain; I like a little milk on mine. The picture looks like a lot of milk, but it is really just a bit - there is a full bowl of oatmeal in there.

Everyone likes this and I make it about 4-5 times a week during the winter months. On the other days of the week we will have pancakes or homemade coffee cake, and occasionally eggs and all the fixings. I still haven't made the granola - that is also good to have on hand, though not everyone here likes it. Everyone here does agree that the oatmeal sticks with you until lunch time. A great start to the day.

Pineapple Scones

I made these twice this past week. They are a delicious comfort food around here - each batch lasted under 24 hours! This is an old family recipe - I know it goes back at least to my maternal great grandmother. I have tweaked the recipe over the years. I like my version best (it is more cookie-like rather than scone), but I will include the original version (the way I received it) as well.

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Patti's Pineapple Scones

1 - 20 oz can of crushed pineapple (with all its juice)

4 c. flour (I freshly grind my own whole wheat flour)

5 t. baking powder

1/2 c. sugar (I use cane sugar)

1/2 c. oil (I usually use light olive oil)

2 eggs

I generally break and beat the eggs in the oil and then I just dump all the ingredients into a bowl and mix. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet (I use a Pampered Chef stoneware cookie sheet.) Cook at 350 for about 15 minutes - they will not get browned, but be firm to the touch. This is actually a doubled recipe - I get about 36-39 scones.

Let them cool and frost.

For frosting I just use a half stick of very soft butter, a box of 10X sugar, 1 t. of vanilla (I make my own) and enough water to make a smooth frosting.

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The Original Pineapple Scone Recipe

2 c. flour

3 t. baking powder

1/4 c. sugar

add 1/4 c. shortening and mix with your fingers. (My mom used Crisco - I suspect that before that it called for lard.)

then -

Drain 1 small can of crushed pineapple (keep the juice) -

Break 1 egg in 1/4 c. of the drained pineapple juice and beat well.

Add to the batter, and then add the pineapple.

350/15 minutes

These are also frosted when cooled.