I simply love this recipe for Hot and Sour Soup. It takes the classic soup that we love from our favorite Asian restaurants and mixes it up a bit. This recipe can also me made a variety of different ways because I used to gobble it down when I was a vegetarian as well (minus the fish and Worcestershire). You can use chicken, shrimp, tofu, or just use extra mushrooms and make it meatless. No matter which way I make it, I LOVE it.

The Marinade:

1/2 cup sake or rice wine vinegar (I typically use sake)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt

Soup Ingredients:

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth/stock
1 1/2 pounds firm fleshed fish (haddock, red snapper, trout)
1 1/2 cups green onions, chopped
1/2 cup dried wood ears (soaked for 20 minutes, and cut into strips)
1/4 cup dried Shitake mushrooms or large handful fresh oyster mushrooms
3/4 pound snow peas (snap the ends and remove strings)
5 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar or Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce (I use gluten free)
3 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
2 tablespoons dried seaweed flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Cut the fish into bite size chunks and add to the Marinade for 1 to 2 hours. Pour the broth into a dutch oven or stock pot and add the fish, onions, and soaked wood ears and mushrooms. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium to simmer for 5 minutes. Skim any impurities that foam at the top and add snow peas.

Add the black vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper, and sesame oil. Stir well and remove from heat. Take your beaten eggs and slowly add them to the soup, stirring in a thin stream around the edge of the pot. Serve and enjoy!

This soup is excellent for winter wellness and nourishing the body during cold and flu season. The ginger heats up your body to fight any germs that may be taking hold of you and the wood ears are also very good for you. Wood ears are a black herbal fungus that have been used in tonics by the Chinese for thousands of years. They are great for digestive troubles and energy levels. You can order them online if you don’t have a good Asian market in your area. If you don’t have any you can use oyster mushrooms instead.

This recipe is adapted from one found in one of my fave all time cookbooks: A Spoonful of Ginger: Irresistible, Health-Giving Recipes from Asian Kitchens.

I grew up eating pineapple oatmeal breakfast cookies and for many months now I have had a hankering for some. This past weekend I asked my mom for a refresher course on how to make them and after adapting the recipe a wee bit I have made these cookies for breakfast all week long. They are so simple and easy to make (12 minutes total for prep and cooking) and they taste delicious. They are one of the few ways I will eat oatmeal actually and they are surprisingly filling without being heavy. They keep me satiated for hours and I can eat them prior to hitting the gym without cramping up. This recipe serves one (4 cookies), since I eat my breakfast alone most mornings, but it can be doubled as needed for more servings.

My whole family enjoys these…

Pineapple Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies Recipe

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup crushed pineapple (fresh or canned)
1 pastured egg
1 T quinoa flour
1/2 T flaxseed meal
1 T whole wheat flour
1 t baking soda
4-5 drops liquid Stevia, or 1-2 teaspoons of another natural sweetener
Pinch of cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together. You should have a wet dough but not so wet that it won’t clump together. If it is too wet add more flour. Scoop onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees or 10 minutes. Eat them warm and enjoy!

Important Notes: You can eliminate the tablespoon of whole wheat flour if you take a tablespoon or more of the oats and grind them into flour. If you use canned pineapple, drain the juice first. Ideally you will also want to use soaked oats to make sure the phytic acid is deactivated and that the cookies are as nourishing as possible. One good way to do this is to soak your oats overnight in water with a couple tablespoons of dairy kefir. Then drain off the water and spread them thinly on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate them. You can also use a cookie sheet and a low temperature in the stove. Once dry you can use the oats for this recipe and you can make big batches of them so that you have some at the ready.

With the arrival of Fall I have been craving pumpkins. Mostly I want some of my mom’s homemade pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting but me left alone during the day with that cake is a recipe for disaster. So I got creative and adapted my post workout shake to make it pumpkin flavored instead. Delish!

Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake

1 Cup almond milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (no soy!)
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 half banana
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or a sprinkling of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice
A handful of ice cubes

Blend together and enjoy!

I used banana because I almost always choose fruit to sweeten stuff before using a processed sweetener but I could have used coconut sugar in this. I couldn’t even taste the banana though, so it worked for me. I also  highlighted that I chose a no soy protein powder. It has nothing to with taste… I just detest unfermented soy products. Most protein powders have soy, so be on the lookout if you also avoid soy. Enjoy!

We aren’t all that big on desserts around here. I think that may be because we live within 15 minutes of what has been called America’s best ice cream… the local artisan creations from Jeni’s. I have no problem loading the family into the car and making a trip there once or twice a week but recently we decided that needed to change some. We aren’t worried about our health or the size of our jeans. Rather we are trying to reduce the “dining out” portion of our monthly budget. Dagnabit! Since we can easily spend $30+ for each trip to Jeni’s we decided to get creative and make more dessert at home.

The first way to accomplish this was pretty glaring. We can have Jeni’s at home by using the recipes in her book Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. So once or twice a month we plan to make some of her delicious recipes. Secondly we want to make more frozen kefir and frozen yogurt. I have made my own frozen yogurt from homemade yogurt but I have yet to make my own frozen kefir. Sadly I let my kefir grains die over the summer and need to buy some more but when I passed some Lifeway Frozen Kefir at the market I decided to give it a whirl.

We have tried two flavors now… original and strawberry. My 5 year old and I went to town on the strawberry and ate the whole container earlier this week. Don’t tell my other kids! I reserved the original for dessert tonight and spiced it up with some homemade blackberry compote. YUM!!!

The blackberry compote was super easy. I just simmered a cup of blackberries with 3 Tablespoons of Thai Coconut Sugar and a couple tablespoons of water. When it was sufficiently reduced and thick I blended it up in the Vita-Mix and poured it over the kefir. The one pint size was perfect for me and my 3 kiddos (Dad works at night). Divide by four and serve. I can see us buying these more often in the future. At $1.24 per serving (family of four) it will definitely help us keep the budget in check.

If any of my readers want to give it a try Lifeway has graciously given me a couple coupons for a free pint. Comment to let me know you want one and I will draw a winner at random next week. Good luck!

A few years ago I made my first dish with Quinoa. I made a rookie mistake and did not rinse the dry Quinoa thoroughly first so it had a bitter taste that no one in my family liked. Lately though I gave it another try and now it has become a weekly part of our menu. I rinse well, pop it in my VitaClay, and then add it to a variety of yummy dishes. My husband loves it with Ahi Tuna and green curry sauce. The kids and I love it in a salad. There are many ways to cook and eat this yummy grain.

Looking for some new recipes I asked on the NatureMoms Facebook page what the community’s  favorite way to cook Quinoa was. They gave me ten new ideas:

1. Cooked with brown rice in the rice cooker. Then topped steamed broccoli and sauteed veggies in sesame teriyaki sauce.

2. Wrapped in a burrito with corn and beans.

3. Steamed with fresh veggies and covered in a vinaigrette.

4. Mixed with black beans, scrambled egg, diced avocado and lots o’ hot sauce w/ a squeeze of lime.

5. In tabouli replacing the wheat.

6. Browned with a little butter first then cooked with with mushrooms, slivered almonds, and nettles.

7. Mixed half and half with homemade salsa.

8. After it is cooked… add black beans, diced tomatoes, minced garlic, sea salt, avocado, cilantro and squeeze some lime juice.

9. Fruity quinoa salad with yogurt, fruit, nuts, and dried raisins or cranberries. The quinoa is cooked w/water, apple juice, and cinnamon. YUM!

10. Cooked in chicken or veggie stock instead of water with several cloves of garlic and a bunch of my favorite herbs.

See anything you might like to try? Enjoy!

For more ideas checkout:

Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood