Blueberry-Banana-Orange Frozen Yogurt

1c - 230g Chobani whole milk plain Greek yogurt
1c - 150g frozen blueberries
1 sm. Mandarin orange
1 sm. - med. banana
a pinch of salt
1-2t± vanilla bean paste
1-2T raw organic honey

Combine everything -blending well on high- in your blender jar. If the ingredients don't move initially, wait a while until they thaw, but don't add any juice or milk. This 'ice cream' freezes rock hard as is, but would be even more solid with additional liquid.**

Blueberries and bananas seem to be the perfect base! Every frozen yogurt I've started this way has turned out so well, and this combination is excellent. . .Lin
**this is best after about 4 hours of freezer time

Lemon-Banana Frozen Yogurt

3/4c plain whole milk Greek yogurt

1 lg. banana - peeled 😉

1 lg. lemon - UNpeeled !!

2-3T organic raw honey

Chop the lemon, remove any seeds, then put all the ingredients in your blender jar and blend on high a minute or two.

The flavor of the banana is overpowered by the lemon, but it adds good texture. Freeze in a 1 pint container for about 4 hours. If it's in the freezer much longer, put it on the counter for a while to soften it to a scoopable consistency. These fruity frozen yogurts are a very flavorful and healthy ice cream alternative. . .Lin

Whole 30 - Fruit Salad

Often a new recipe creation just hits me when looking in the 'fridge, freezer, on my pantry shelf, or like today - in the fresh fruit corner of my countertop.

Also, as a bit of an aside, in the past - the recent past, like right before Whole 30 - I'd make a fruit bowl like this and top it with turbinado sugar, "for crunch." Lots of sugar provided lots of crunch, but it also negated a lot of natural benefits of the healthy fruit. So as I assembled this I thought of that and wondered how the flavors and texture would be in this new, healthier approach. Well, for a big surprise, read this post to the end!

1 lg. Envy apple

1 med. banana

1 yellow or green kiwi

1 Cutie mandarin + peel

Dark seedless grapes

5-7 dried dates

juice of one lime

Wash everything well.

Peel the kiwi, don't peel the Cutie, and juice the lime. Cut, slice or chop, each of these fruits, into a medium size bowl. Drizzle with the lime juice, gently combine and distribute, making sure everything is coated with the lime juice.

I ate half of the fruit in the little bowl and was so surprised at the flavors the lime juice brought out! However, I had an idea. . .

I went back to the kitchen and sprinkled the rest of the fruit in my bowl with pink Himalayan salt and some of my black+cayenne pepper mix.

Wow!! You need to give this a try! . .Lin

Lotsa Stuff — Healthy Muffins

Combine in a large bowl:

1-1/2 ripe, mashed banana

1 lg. diced, unpeeled Envy apple

1c chopped pecans

1-1/4c dark brown sugar

3 lg. pasture raised eggs

1T pure Mexican vanilla

3/4c single source EVOO

3/4c plain Greek yogurt

zest of 2 oranges - juice of 1 or 2

In another large bowl, whisk together:

1-1/2c unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4c corn flour (not cornmeal)

3/4c organic rye flour

1+T ground flax seed

1+T chia seeds

1T pumpkin pie spice

1t each: salt, baking powder, baking soda

Preheat your oven to 350° When the wet and dry ingredients are well mixed in their bowls, add the fruit mixture to the dry bowl. Stir well to combined then spoon into paper-lined muffin pans. Bake 20 minutes or so until a toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean. Makes 36 muffins or 24 + a small loaf of quick bread. If making the second option, allow extra baking time for the batter in the loaf pan. . .Lin

Tropical Fruit Smoothie

1/2 frozen banana

1c frozen pineapple chunks

1 Cutie mandarin, cut in half

2/3c-1c whole milk plain Greek Yogurt

some healthy juice for the right viscosity 

Today was feeling like a bad, low energy day. I was catching up on emails and almost fell asleep typing. 

These always help with that, as well as giving me some much needed Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and all the other good nutrients found in these foods.

Blend everything until smooth, pour and drink. Down The Hatch! . .Lin

Pink Green Juice Smoothie

2/3c full fat plain Greek yogurt

2/3 to 1c green juice smoothie

1 'Cutie' Mandarin orange

1/2 lg. banana

1 to 1-1/2c frozen berries

1/2 - 1t ground cinnamon

Blend everything together well, using the entire unpeeled orange.

If necessary, add some cold filtered water to get it to a thinner consistency. Fruit (vegetable) and yogurt smoothies are a great alternative to eating something that might derail your healthy food goals. Such as half a big container of ice cream . . 🙃 . .

This made almost 20oz. . .Lin

Cranberry Orange Banana Walnut Cake-Bread

1c corn flour

1c toasted oat flour

1c all purpose flour

1T pumpkin pie spice

1/2T baking soda

1/2T baking powder

1t salt

1c walnuts - chopped

Preheat the oven to 350° Butter and sugar a 8"x12"x2" glass baking pan with turbinado or coconut sugar.

Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a big glass bowl.

3 lg. eggs

2/3c light olive oil

2/3c plain Greek yogurt

1c turbinado sugar

3 chopped 'CUTIE' oranges

1 lg. banana

1T vinegar

1T Mexican vanilla

1c whole cranberries - chopped

Put the eggs, and everything else in this group, in a large glass container - except the cranberries. Mix this with an immersion blender.

Rough chop the cranberries with a hand food chopper, then stir them in. Combine this with the dry ingredients, mixing well and quickly, by hand. Pour into the pan and bake for 50 minutes. Cool for an hour before serving.

This is great for breakfast, a snack or dessert. . .Lin

Carrot Fruit Cake-Bread

2 big carrots - finely chopped

1c chopped frozen pineapple 

1 mashed banana

1"cube fresh ginger - minced

1 whole mandarin orange - zest and chop

1/2c coconut sugar

1/2c brown sugar

3 lg. eggs

3/4c light olive oil

3/4c sunflower kernels

- - walnuts or pecans would be better

1/2c plain Greek yogurt

1T white balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350° Chop, zest, mash and combine everything above, in a medium glass bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together the following dry ingredients:

1T cinnamon

1/2T baking soda

1/2T baking powder

2T ground chia + flax

1t salt

1c corn flour

2-1/2c all purpose flour

Pour the bowl of well combined wet ingredients into the flour bowl. Working quickly with a big silicone spatula, fold and combine these into a heavy batter. Today I transferred this to a buttered and sugared 8"x12"x2" glass baking pan to make a snack-coffee cake. This would have also made wonderful  muffins! Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes. If making muffins, cut the baking time way down, start with 20 minutes then do the toothpick test. Let the cake cool an hour before cutting.

My daughter was here while this was cooling. She suggested a cream cheese drizzle to accentuate the flavors. I didn't have cream cheese, so instead made this butter-cinnamon-vanilla glaze:

3T melted butter

1t Mexican vanilla

1c powdered sugar

1t cinnamon

2T heavy cream

Mix these together until smooth in a small bowl. Pour and spread over the top. 

Have fun with your creative combinations. . .Lin

CHOBANI Yogurt - For Health and Humanity

I've had a couple bad days.  My stomach and gut have made their displeasure known. This morning all seemed calm, then I brewed up a pot of really good coffee and all systems began a recoil. I remember enough about molecular biology I've read over the years to know there's good bacteria and bad in our digestive systems. Clearly, the bad was on a rampage. My natural instinct was just to do a 24 hour tea and water fast, but biology won out. I made this smoothie, and now, 2 hours later, things have begun to calm down. Yea! This is always counterintuitive to me since I'm sometimes sensitive to dairy, but it appears that doesn't apply as much to really good quality yogurt. Good Bacteria to the rescue.

Good quality, full fat, plain Greek yogurt is full of good gut enzymes and 'good bacteria' our system need for healthy digestion.  Sickness, too much junk food, alcohol, or even not enough sleep can put everything out of balance. At Aldi's they have a great yogurt I used to buy, but after hearing Hamdi Ulukaya, the CHOBANI founder and CEO tell his story in several interviews, I've vowed to only buy his brand whenever possible. He's a compassionate, caring man who not only loves and treats his employees as equals, he cares about their financial struggles, job satisfaction - and receives the loyalty that brings. He also regularly sends money to relatives, still in his homeland, to help with their expenses and is concerned about making their lives better where they are. He worked hard and now lives his dream.

He's a true American Hero to me. Check this out:  CHOBANI Yogurt's Founder

This goes together SO quick!

• 1 very ripe banana
• 2/3c each: frozen blueberries and frozen dark cherries
• 2/3 - 3/4c CHOBANI whole milk plain Greek yogurt
• 2T ground chia and flax
• 2t Mexican vanilla
• 1-2c pure pineapple juice

Pineapple juice contains bromelian which is a pain and inflammation fighter.  Pineapple-bromelain enzymes also help with digestive upset.  So, I had to blog this to refer to.  Next time I'll follow this, but also add 1t± of ground cinnamon.  Drink up everyone!  Your gut will thank you. . .Lin

Walnut Fruit Muffins

1c rhubarb

1 ripe banana

1-2T real vanilla 

2 'cuties' and peel

¾c chopped walnuts

⅓c organic cane sugar

⅓c golden raisins

⅔c avocado oil

2 lg. eggs

1c fine corn meal or corn flour

½c organic all purpose flour

½c quick steel cut oats

¼c organic oat bran

¼c ground flax seed mix*

2t pumpkin pie spice

½t Himalayan pink salt

1t each: bak.soda / bak.powder

Combine the first ingredients in a medium bowl, mixing well with a wooden spoon.  Set this aside to rehydrate the raisins and orange peel, while measuring and combining the flours and spices, etc., in a big bowl.

Once all the dry ingredients are combined well, pour in the egg-fruit mixture, stir well, but quickly so as not to over blend.  If it's a little dry, add a splash of water, milk or half and half.  Spoon into 24 prepared muffin cups, sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.  Bake in a preheated 350⁰ oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test.  This makes 24 muffins.
Mmmm, These Smell Fantastic! . . . Lin

*I found a wonderful one that contains flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and goji berries.  All finely ground.

Coconut-Berry-Banana Ice Cream

2c mixed frozen berries

1 banana fresh or frozen

2T honey

1 13.5oz can coconut milk

Blend the fruit in a food processor.  Transfer about half to a 2 quart pot and add the honey.  Warm this a little if needed, to help the honey blend in.

Add the coconut milk to the remaining fruit in the food processor and pulse to blend.  Combine everything then pour into a 4-5c freezer container.  Freeze, stir every hour or so, until it reaches the consistency you want.

Serve now.  Any leftovers will freeze very hard and will need a little time to thaw a bit before serving. . .Lin

My Go-To Smoothie

3/4c pineapple juice

3/4c plain Greek yogurt

3/4c fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2T raw, organic honey

1/2T ground cinnamon

2 chunks of candied ginger

Combine everything in a blender, blend for a couple minutes and serve.

If you look up these individual ingredients, you'll find this is packed with antioxidants, anti-inflammatories. . .AND it tastes really good. . .Lin