Category: Health & Fitness

The Ultimate Summer Ice Cream

LynetteLewis
Jul 1 |21:00
IMG_1429
Author:

It was a family a-ha moment the other night over homemade strawberry ice cream…..what if we use some of our home grown garden mint and make mint chip next time instead?

Our oldest son Nathan taste-testing the first bite

Fortunately, we weren’t the first to think of such a notion, and after an internet search I adapted our favorite cream base recipe, and oh my, tonight our palates are chilled and thrilled!  Some might call me an ice cream connoisseur and THIS recipe may just be my all-time favorite of all. It is beyond delicious and so refreshing.  Enjoy!

 

Fresh Mint Chip Ice Cream

Heat 2 c. heavy cream, 1 c. whole milk, 3/4 c. sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan with 2 cups packed fresh mint leaves.  Let the mixture get steamy and almost to a boiling point.  Cover with a lid and remove from heat.  Let steep for 1-2 hours.  Strain the cream mixture or if cool enough, squeeze the mint in your hands to press out all the mint essence.  Refrigerate overnight.

Whip 3 egg yolks lightly, then pour into cream mixture and stir.  Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.  In the last 5 minutes of freezing add in 5 oz. of roughly chopped semi-sweet chocolate pieces.

Makes about 1 quart of ultimate ice cream!

 

 

 

Really Delicious Healthy Cookies

LynetteLewis
Jan 18 |15:53
Delicious Healthy Cookies
Author:

We always start off the year with a week or more of fasting and an attempt to eat extra healthy.  Today I tried a wonderful recipe for healthy cookies that are delicious and easy to make, not to mention good for you.  They end up kind of chewy, almost like a granola cookie but not too sweet, and very satisfying!

This recipe is from Whole Living magazine but I modified it slightly as follows:

1 1/2 c. rolled oats (not quick oats)

1/2 c. amaranth (found this at Earth Fare in the bulk flour dept., it’s super tiny granules)

1/2 c. chopped dry roasted or toasted almonds

1/2 c. dried cherries, chopped

1/2 c. dates, chopped

1/4 c. honey (I used raw, local, which is best for fighting allergies)

2 large eggs (whites only)

kosher salt

1.  Combine oats, amaranth, nuts, dried fruit, and honey in a medium bowl.  Whisk egg whites with 1/4 tsp. salt until foamy.  Pour over dried fruit and stir to combine.

2.  Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Scoop 3 T. mixture (using an ice cream scoop) and pat into a 3-inch round on baking sheet.  Bake until clusters are golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes.  Let cool completely.  Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Per serving: 120 calories; 1 g saturated fat; 3 g unsaturated fat; 19g carbohydrates

 

Praline Oatmeal Cake

LynetteLewis
Oct 30 |19:49
PralineCake
Author:

This cake is SO delicious, found it over 10 years ago and every fall when the weather turns colder and we have friends over for brunch or dessert, this is the recipe I go to first.  It never fails to get rave reviews.

Super moist, not too sweet,  becomes even better one and two days later.  With all that oatmeal it must be healthy (she tells herself while cutting a second piece)…..Enjoy!

Praline Oatmeal Cake — Serves 12

1/2 c. butter

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. boiling water

1 c. quick-cook oatmeal

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

2 c. sifted all-purpose flour (can substitute part whole wheat pastry flour)

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Let butter and eggs warm to room temperature.  Combine boiling water and oatmeal in a large bowl.  Let stand 15 minutes.  Add the butter, eggs, brown and white sugars, flour, baking soda and salt to the oatmeal mixture.  Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes.  Pour into a greased and floured 13x9x2 baking pan.  Bake at 325 for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Turn heat to broil.  Spread cake with Praline Topping (below).  Place 5 inches from broiler and broil 2-3 minutes until bubbly (watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.)

Praline Topping: Combine 3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar, 3 T. soft butter, 2 T. heavy cream and 3/4 c. chopped pecans or walnuts in a bowl.

 

My Favorites

admin
Jul 26 |10:22

I love cooking almost as much as shopping, and test new recipes on my husband and boys whenever possible. Check out my latest “We’ll definitely be making this again!” favorites.’

Lynette’s Famous Iced Tea
When teenage boys are asking for the recipe so they can have their moms make it too, you know it’s got to be good! I’ve been making this tea for over 20 years, it’s the BEST!
For a 2-qt. pitcher of tea, boil water and then pour over 2 family size Lipton tea bags, 2 Constant Comment tea bags (I use all decaf tea), several sprigs of fresh mint (if you have them). Steep this for about 3 hours, stir in 1 1/2 cups sugar, then fill the pitcher to the rim with cold water and chill. We always have this tea in our fridge!

Breakfast Smoothie
Ron and I are big smoothie fans, almost every morning we mix up the following in a blender, it makes enough for two people:

1 c. kefir OR soy milk OR almond milk
2 scoops protein powder
(our favorite is Goatein from Garden of Life)
3 T. Barleans High Lignan Flax Oil
2 T. ground flax seed
2 c. frozen fruit
(we mix varieties of blueberries, cherries, mango, raspberries, etc.)
Add a little water if it’s too thick.