the sprouted life’s favorites {raspberry chia seed lemonade}

the sprouted life’s favorites {raspberry chia seed lemonade}

a few months ago i was making one of those “mad dash” shopping trips at whole foods around lunch time.  i have learned that i should never, ever shop when i am hungry.  i have zero self control. anyway, i managed to get out of the store without grabbing a lot of extras except for a bottle of cranberry chia seed lemonade.  it looked interesting & bonus, it was on sale. i loved it.  the texture is a little odd the first time you drink it, but other than that you never notice the chia seeds.  our family is already a lover of fresh squeezed lemonade, so why not add more fiber & omega fats?  we always have fresh lemons in our house (i buy 10 lbs of organic lemons every month in my azure standard order) and those only last us about 2-3 weeks.  so if you are looking for a refreshing summer drink, definitely try some chia seed lemonade. we typically just make ours by the glass & raspberries are not necessary…the plain lemon is wonderful also.

 

 

raspberry chia seed lemonade
Recipe Type: drink
Author: the sprouted life
a quick refreshing summer drink, packed full of nutrients
Ingredients
  • 2 organic lemons
  • handful of raspberries (or any desired fruit)
  • 3 Tbps. chia seeds
  • 16 ounces of water
  • splash of maple syrup (per desired sweetness)
Instructions
  1. use a citrus juicer or hand squeeze the lemons
  2. juice the raspberries or crush up with a mortar.
  3. mix lemons, juiced raspberries & 16 ounces of water
  4. add a splash of maple syrup and stir
  5. taste to check sweetness, add more maple syrup if needed
  6. add in chia seeds and stir throughly
  7. let set for about 5 minutes before drinking (chia seeds need to hydrate)
Notes

we like our lemonade tart, so i use just a splash of maple syrup, but you can mix it to desired sweetness. *maple syrup will settle on bottom, so make sure to stir it in well.

the sprouted life’s favorite products & appliances used in this recipe:

 

this post was shared on:  real food wednesdays allergy-free wednesdays & simple lives thursday

chia almond breakfast shortcakes {with strawberries & blackberries}

chia almond breakfast shortcakes {with strawberries & blackberries}

chia almond breakfast shortcakes {with strawberries & blackberries}

this is how the conversation with my 3 year old went at breakfast the other day:

brady: “mommy, there are bugs in my scone.”

me: “oh, those are just chia seeds.”

(with a look on his face, that showed he clearly didn’t believe me)

brady: it’s okay mommy, i like bugs.”

breakfast is one of the hardest meals for me to find inspiration for.  ever since my youngest son had violent reactions to eggs, our home has been pretty much egg free.  i miss eggs.  i miss how easy they were for breakfast.  so until they return to our house (which i am hopeful that they will) i keep trying new ideas to keep breakfast interesting. these yummy creations were inspired by a recipe from one of my paleo cookbooks {Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-Free Kitchen}.  i love paleo recipes, but many of them are pretty “egg” heavy, so i try alterations to make them work.  i first made these as a dessert and then altered them again by adding more fiber for a perfectly filling, slightly sweet breakfast treat.

 

chia almond breakfast shortcakes {with strawberries & blackberries}
Recipe Type: breakfast, dessert
Author: inspired & adapted from “paleo comfort foods” by julia & charles mayfield
honey sweetened shortcakes. makes a perfect breakfast or a wonderful summer dessert.
Ingredients
  • 2 c. strawberries
  • 2 c. blackberries
  • 2 tsps. raw honey
  • 2 c. blanched almond flour
  • 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. baking powder
  • pinch of celtic sea salt
  • 3 Tbsp. coconut oil
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 flax seed eggs* (or 2 large free range eggs)
  • 2 Tbsp. raw honey
Instructions
  1. wash, hull & slice strawberries and mix in a bowl with the blackberries and 2 tsps. of honey
  2. set aside
  3. preheat oven to 350
  4. in a bowl, combine the blanched almond flour, chia seeds, cinnamon, sea salt, baking soda & baking powder
  5. in a saucepan make 2 flax seed eggs (heat 6 Tbsp. water & wisk in 2 Tsbp. ground flax seed until mixture becomes gel like)
  6. combine coconut oil, honey, vanilla & flax egg mixture and pour over dry ingredients
  7. mix gently until ingredients are well incorporated
  8. using a 1/3c. measuring cup, scoop out ½ circle dough balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet
  9. this recipe makes six 1/3 c. shortcakes.
  10. bake for 18-20 minutes, until light golden brown
  11. serve warm, topped with honey sweetened strawberry-blackberry mixture
Notes

*if you are making these using eggs, you can omit the baking powder. I have found that using a small amount in egg-free baked items helps them rise.

**for baked goods I typically use blanched almond flour, it just cooks better. I have tried almond meal in this recipe and it works well also, the shortcake will just be a little denser.

 

 

this post was shared on: monday mania,  slightly indulgent tuesdaysfat tuesdayreal food wednesdaysallergy-free wednesdays, gluten-free wednesdayswhole food wednesdays & pennywise platter

almond crusted honey mustard salmon

almond crusted honey mustard salmon

i have a slight obsession with cookbooks. oh… i have tried to like the cookbooks on my ipad, they are so easy, so instant, but they just don’t cut it like a good ‘ole paper book. trust me, you can tell which cookbooks contain my favorites by the splatters of ingredients on them.

well the other night i decided we needed something different for dinner.  i had a nice piece of frozen wild caught salmon just waiting to be cooked.  i love, love, love grilled salmon, but would rather get a fresh piece if i am going to simply grill it.  so on the hunt for a recipe, i pulled out a cookbook that i received for christmas this past year  {The Pure Kitchen: Clear the Clutter from Your Cooking with 100 Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Recipes} and quickly found a recipe for a honey mustard salmon. now, in true jennifer fashion, i did not plan ahead and was lacking the chives, the parsley & the caraway seeds that the original recipe called for and brian really wanted a “crusted” style salmon. so we altered the recipe some and came up with an almond crusted honey mustard salmon. this recipe will definitely be added to one of our regular favorites.  i served it over lemon herbed quinoa and with a side of green beans. check out the “the pure kitchen” cookbook for the actual quinoa recipe (i was missing some ingredients, so mine was just “okay”)

 

almond crusted honey mustard salmon
Recipe Type: entree
Author: inspired by the honey mustard salmon found in “the pure kitchen” by hallie klecker
toasted almond crusted salmon, with a sweet mustardy sauce and just a pinch of heat!
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. wild alaskan caught salmon (cut into 4 pieces)
  • ½ cup almond meal (toasted)
  • 3 Tbsp. organic dijon or brown mustard
  • 1 Tbsp. raw honey
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. dried dill (1 Tbsp. fresh)
  • pinch of unrefined celtic sea salt
  • pinch of cayenne (to taste)
Instructions
  1. preheat oven to 450.
  2. in a skillet, toast almond meal over low heat until golden brown
  3. cut salmon in 4 pieces and pat dry with paper towels
  4. rub olive oil on salmon and place in glass cooking dish
  5. in a bowl mix together, mustard, honey, dill, sea salt, cayenne
  6. coat top of salmon with honey mustard mixture & then top with the toasted almond meal
  7. bake at 450 for 9-12 minutes* (salmon is done when it easily flakes)
  8. *we like our salmon medium so we cooked ours for just 9 minutes

 

 

shared on: pennywise platter & food renegade

the day {the one where i went gluten free}

the day {the one where i went gluten free}

marked clearly on my calendar with a big red circle, is the day.  january 6, 2009.  it was the day that i went gluten free.  only for a trial period, right? or so i thought.

i was 4 weeks postpartum with my first son and suddenly all my tummy troubles were back.  my sister had been diagnosed with early signs of celiac damage earlier that year and was already well into her gluten free journey.  i made the decision, i was done.  so what did i do? well naturally i bought a cookbook {1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes (1,000 Recipes)} it had 1,000 gluten free recipes…this couldn’t be that hard, right?

as soon as my cookbook arrived, i chose a few recipes to try and headed off to whole foods.  and there i stood.  i think i was there for over 2 hours, just reading labels. never fear, i had my trusty list in hand with all the words that could mean “gluten”.  a few hundred dollars later, i came home with all sorts of gluten free items.  i had sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xantham gum…and on and on, armed and ready to bake.

i have to admit that the first thing we ever baked gluten free was actually a huge success.  though we now eat a very limited amount of gluten free starches and grains, i still thought this recipe should be shared. these little cookies, offered me the encouragement i needed as we dove into changing everything about the way we knew how to cook.

gluten free snickerdoodles
Recipe Type: dessert
Author: adapated from: 1,000 gluten free recipes by carol fenster
simple, yet yummy gluten free snickerdoodles. (options included for making them egg-free & dairy-free)
Ingredients
  • ¾ c. sorghum flour
  • ¾ c. potato starch
  • ½ c. tapioca starch
  • ½ c. earth balance (for dairy free) or butter
  • 1 tsp. xantham gum
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. unrefined sea salt salt
  • 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
  • 1 c. evaporated cane sugar
  • 1 flax seed egg* (for egg free) or 1 free-range egg
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. almond extract
  • (sugar and cinnamon for coating cookies)
  • *flax seed egg (heat 3 Tbsp. water + 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed, until mixture gels)
Instructions
  1. mix together dry ingredients (sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xantham gum, salt & baking powder) & set aside
  2. with mixer on low blend butter until smooth & then beat in sugar, flax seed egg, brown sugar, vanilla & almond extract
  3. slowly fold in dry ingredients
  4. remove dough from bowl and knead dough with hands until smooth
  5. divide into two balls and pat into flat disks between plastic wrap or parchment paper
  6. chill in refrigerator for one hour
  7. cut each disk of dough into 12 equal pieces
  8. roll each piece into balls & coat with cinnamon and sugar
  9. place on parchment lines cookie sheet & press slightly to flatten
  10. bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes
Notes

if making with flax seed egg, cookies with become pretty dry after about 2 days. freezing the extras is our preferred way to store them