Zucchini Tots
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 onion
3 pasture raised eggs
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup almonds, chopped fine
1/2 cup Mary’s Gone Crackers, chopped fine
1-2 cups frozen organic hash browns
1 T olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
In vitamix or blender, combine zucchini, yellow squash, onion, eggs and olive oil. Blend well. In food processor (or vitamix) chop almonds and Mary Crackers until ground fine. Mix all ingredients together. Scoop into muffin tin. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with organic sugar free ketchup and enjoy! Your kiddos will LOVE them.
Collard Green and Mince Cakes
Ingredients:
4-5 large collard green leaves (destemed and chopped fine)
½ red onion
1 small bunch parsley
4 medium sized potatoes, (diced and boiled)
8 oz grass-fed ground beef
2 T almond flour
2 T gluten-free flour (optional)
2 eggs
½ tsp dried thyme
3-4 T coconut oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Boil potatoes for 12 minutes, drain and mash. Set aside. Chop collards, parsley and onion (I use a blender or vitamix to chop fine.) Saute collards and onion in 1-2 T coconut oil for 2-3 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until beef is browned. Add collard mixture to the potatos and stir in gluten-free flour and almond flour. Scramble two eggs and while stirring the mixture (it will still be hot) add the eggs. Mix in salt, pepper and thyme. Heat pan with remaining 2 T coconut oil. When mixture is cool enough to touch, mold into small cakes and fry in coconut oil until golden brown. I promise, your kids will love them!
Note: This recipe can be a template for any veggie. I used collard greens, but broccoli, kale or any other green veggie would be delicious!
Kale Chips
1 bunch Kale
3 T Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 T Nutritional yeast (optional)
De-stem and chop or tear kale into large 2” pieces. Massage in grape seed oil and lay flat onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle on salt and pepper and nutritional yeast. Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes or until crispy.
Apple Chips
2 large apples sliced crosswise 1/8 inch thick
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of coconut sugar
Heat oven to 225 degrees. Arrange apple slices on two baking sheets and bake for 90 minutes. Make sure each apple slice has its own place on the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and coconut sugar. Flip after after 90 minutes, and continue baking until crisp, about another 60 minutes.
Applesauce (great for baby food!)
4 apples,peeled and chopped
Steam in 1 c. filtered water until soft.
Then mix in:
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 T ghee
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined but still chunky.
Zucchini Chips
1 large zucchini
1-2 T avocado oil
1 T Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and grease a baking pan. Slice the zucchini into rounds massage in avocado oil. Sprinkle cheese, salt and pepper on top and bake for 20-30 minutes until crisp and lightly browned, flipping at about 10 minutes.
Kid’s favorite granola bars
¼ cup sesame seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup raisins
½ cup dried dates (pitted)
½ cup peanut butter or almond butter
Place sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins, and dates into a food processor. Chop until everything is ground together. Add nut butter and mix until combined. Roll mixture into balls or press into 8-inch square cake pan and cut into 1-inch squares. Keep refrigerated.
Variation: add ½ cup of unsweetened coconut and a splash of coconut or almond milk, if necessary, to help hold balls together. You can also add cacao powder, maca, or açai powder.
Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese
For the cheese sauce:
1 1/2 cups raw cashews
3 T. fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 clove garlic
pinch of turmeric
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. mustard (dijon or yellow)
Directions:
Blend ingredients until smooth and creamy.
For the macaroni n’ cheese casserole:
8 oz. of gluten-free elbow or shell pasta
freshly ground black pepper
paprika.
*optional add-ins: roasted broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, spinach.
Mix together and enjoy immediately, or roast in oven for 30 minutes.
Gummy Immune Superstars
There are two ways to do this. You can purchase elderberry syrup. I love the brand Gaia Herbs, but it can get very expensive. I will put the directions for using purchased elderberry syrup at the end of the article. But, its super easy to make your own! And you will save a lot of money. Below are the ingredients and instructions to do so. Don’t worry, it’s easy!
Homemade Elderberry Syrup
Ingredients:
1/3 cup black dried elderberries ( I order mine from vitacost.com. You can get a 1lb bag for about $12)
2 cups water
1 T fresh ginger root
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp clove powder
Combine ingredients and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Your whole house will smell amazing and delicious. Remove from heat and strain the berries out. Keep the liquid, and toss the berries.
Making the Gummy Superstars:
What you will need:
Elderberry Syrup (homemade or store bought)
Gelatin (Great Lakes unflavored gelatin)
Honey
Optional Immune boosting supplements:
Probiotics (orthomolecular or PB8)
Vitamin C (or camu camu powder)
Vitamin D liquid
Using 1 cup of elderberry syrup, and slowly stir in 4-6 teaspoons of gelatin.
Once the mixture has cooled off (let it sit 10-15 minutes) add in ½ cup honey (I feel comfortable using raw honey, but most some parents will feel better about regular pasteurized honey), and probiotics. (I used 3 capsules of OrthoMolecular’s Orthobiotic, but PB 8 is a good one from the health food store.)
Pour into silicone molds for fun shapes (or a glass bowl) and put into the freezer for about 10 minutes. (Check out Amazon for these- there are lots of fun shapes and ideas.)
Give about 1 tsp worth to your kiddos every day (especially during flu season!)
For Gummy Superstars made from purchased elderberry:
Using 1 cup of warmed elderberry syrup, and slowly stir in 4-6 teaspoons of gelatin. (I always use Great Lakes unflavored gelatin. It’s the best high quality gelatin on the market.)
Once the mixture has cooled off (let it sit 10-15 minutes). Slowly stir in probiotics. (I used 3 capsules of OrthoMolecular’s Orthobiotic, but PB 8 is a good one from the health food store.)
Pour into silicone molds for fun shapes (or a glass bowl) and put into the freezer for about 10 minutes. (Check out Amazon for these- there are lots of fun shapes and ideas.)Chai Tea Jello cubes
1 T grate lakes hydrolyzed beef gelatin
1 cup of hot brewed Bengal spice tea (brew with 2 tea bags)
2 tbsp full-fat coconut milk
Brew the tea with boiling water. Once it’s steeped, remove the tea bags. Stir in the gelatin and dissolve completely. Add the coconut milk and stir. Optional to sweeten with 1 T honey or 10 drops of stevia. Pour into glass storage container. Refrigerate until set, 2-3 hours.
