Healthful Vegan Mint Chip Smoothie Recipe

I quietly went dairy-free recently which made me a little bummed out because I love yogurt and feta and Pecorino Romano cheese.  My acupuncturist was begging me for years to break up with dairy once and for all so that I might be able to stop complaining about this and that.  Sure enough, without getting too personal, going dairy-free (even sheep and goat) has been a positive move for me and I am pretty motivated to keep it that way.

I still give Mr. Picky raw milk and the girls eat their yogurt and cheese all the same.  But when I make something for all of us to share, I’ve been using lots and lots of almond milk, like in porridges and smoothies.  I haven’t gotten around to making almond milk yogurt yet, but I’d love to try.  In the meantime, I just made this crazy delicious mint chip smoothie that will keep my dairy cravings at bay forever!  Mint chip was always my favorite ice cream flavor and I love fresh mint in salads so how could I go wrong in a smoothie?  I took my Leprauchan Smoothie from last year with a few tweaks and a couple drops of peppermint extract, presto!  It’s so darn good, it tastes like a dessert even though it’s totally healthful enough to eat for breakfast.  Except for the chocolate chips.  Who cares!  It has 4 cups of spinach which you can’t even taste and a couple of dates for sweetness.  Not bad at all.  In fact, so stinkin’ good!

My kids were even freaking out.  This is one of those things you’ll make for St. Patrick’s Day because it’s green and you won’t stop making it.  The only thing I don’t love about it is that it’s cold.  And cold first thing in the morning when the weather is still a bit chilly is a bummer for your digestive system which has to work extra hard to bring up the temperature of your stomach to where it likes to be.  I try not to give the kids cold smoothies first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, and definitely not in the winter.  Serving this with warm oatmeal or porridge is a better idea, or after a workout, or when the weather warms up a bit.

But I’d rather see you drink a cold smoothie in the middle of winter than anything with gross green food coloring.  I just cringe when I see cupcakes with artificially-dyed frosting or green bagels.  If you need some convincing, please read this article from Healthy Child Healthy World about why you need to go dye-free.  In the meantime, go get yourself a giant bag of naturally green, chlorophyll-rich, nutrient dense SPINACH and enjoy some delicious St. Patty’s Day pancakes with a mint chip smoothie to wash it all down!  🙂

Healthful Vegan Mint Chip Smoothie

Pamela
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice*
  • 4 pitted dates or sweetener of choice to taste
  • 4 cups spinach leaves
  • ½ ripe avocado pitted and peeled (optional, but good if you are trying to eat more high quality fats)
  • 1 frozen ripe banana cut into chunks (this should be peeled before it’s frozen--click here for tips on freezing fruit)
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 2 cups ice
  • 2 Tablespoons chocolate chips or raw cacao nibs
  • To garnish optional: 2 mint sprigs and some shaved chocolate (I used a vegetable peeled on a dark chocolate bar.)

Instructions
 

  • If you have a high-powered blender, such as a Vita-Mix, place all the ingredients EXCEPT the chocolate chips into the blender and process until smooth.
  • If you do not have a high-powered blender, the dates may not get blended completely and may leave tiny little bits of date in the smoothie. If that bothers you, blend the almond milk and dates together and then strain the mixture. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender (EXCEPT the chocolate chips) with the strained almond milk and blend until smooth. Or just use honey or maple syrup to sweeten instead of dates.
  • Add the chocolate chips and pulse just a couple of times to break them up a bit. Divide between 2 glasses and garnish with a mint sprig and chocolate shavings, if desired.

Notes

*If you want to use a sweetened vanilla almond milk or other sweetened vanilla milk, you can omit the dates and vanilla extract and sweeten to taste.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

St. Patty’s Day Green Pancakes Recipe

My favorite green holiday is coming up which is funny since I’m not one iota Irish, I don’t drink booze nor do I eat beef.  But I look forward to St. Patrick’s Day so I can take all the liberties in the world to play up the GREEN in what we eat.  Sure, you can make Irish soda bread, cabbage and corned beef which are all very expected, but I think any green food shows your spirit!  Last year I posted a spinach and avocado smoothie (sweet, not savory, Silly!) and spinach risotto (that’s what this Italian girl eats on March 17th!) in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

Last weekend I was making a green smoothie for Mr. Picky and as I added the spinach I thought about blending spinach into the liquid mixture for pancakes.  Light bulb!  I know it’s weird to think of spinach in a non-savory way, but I promise it totally works!  If you can’t taste the spinach in a smoothie, you shouldn’t be able to taste it in pancakes, right?  Right.

Soooo, I very enthusiastically started making some green pancakes for breakfast.  And very predictably, my daughters were like “Really Mom?  What are those?”  And before I could answer my darlings, Mr. Picky chimed in “Hey, are those for St. Patrick’s Day?”  Yes, you fantastic child.  That’s EXACTLY what they’re for!”  Thanks for playing.  St. Patrick’s Day pancakes for all!!  Everyone, including my mother who was visiting, enjoyed these pancakes as much as my traditional buttermilk pancakes, because they taste exactly the same!

You know I don’t do the sneaky food thing.  That’s too much work and too stressful for me and it really doesn’t upset me if my kids don’t like everything.  I just do what my parents did which was to make one meal and if you ate it, you ate it and if you didn’t, you didn’t.  No one got mad or anxious or worried.  Eventually, we all ate like my parents.  Eventually.  My point is this isn’t about being sneaky.  Sure spinach pancakes are an easy, tasty way to eat some greens without realizing you’re eating greens.  I’m making these just for fun and they happen to be a bit more nutritious!  But if you have alterior motives, go for it.  There’s no better time to serve green pancakes than St. Patrick’s Day.  Of course, there’s also Christmas, Earth Day, first day of Spring, Halloween, game day if you’re an Eagles or Packers fan……

St. Patty's Day Green Pancakes

Pamela
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Servings 5 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour white whole wheat flour or whole spelt flour* (I tested the recipe with sprouted spelt flour.)
  • 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 cups buttermilk**
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup
  • 2 cups packed baby spinach leaves
  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
  • Melted unrefined coconut oil for brushing the griddle (or butter)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat a griddle to 400 degrees or medium heat. (I’ve noticed that many griddles cook differently even at the same temperature!)
  • Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  • In a blender combine the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, spinach and melted butter until completely smooth.
  • Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
  • Brush the griddle with coconut oil and spoon about ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle. When bubbles start to form on the surface of the pancake and the edges become slightly dry, flip it over and cook until down. Maintain the heat on medium-low or 400 degrees.

Notes

*Gluten-free:  substitute 1 cup buckwheat flour and 1 cup brown rice flour for the wheat flour.  Or you can use GF oat flour, too, such as 2/3 cup oat flour, 2/3 cup buckwheat flour and 2/3 cup brown rice flour.
**No buttermilk?  Sub half unsweetened yogurt and half whole milk.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

Asian Slaw Recipe

colorful and crunchy | pamela salzman

I love salads and have since I was a kid.  Give me a good basic vinaigrette and I will come up with the craziest salad combinations.  Whatever I have in the refrigerator or the pantry is fair game.  Quinoa, fresh herbs, sprouts, cooked beans, last night’s leftover vegetables, rice, whatever!  I always try to wash a few heads of lettuce and make a vinaigrette on Sunday so that a delicious salad is only minutes away any day of the week.

thinly slice your cabbages

The only tricky part about salads is making sure you’ve got good seasonal produce to work with.  Lettuce is grown all year round in California, but tomatoes and cucumbers are not.   So my winter salads tend to focus on things like avocados, fennel and citrus fruits.  But I also love making winter salads with a base of something other than lettuce, such as kale or cabbage which are super fabulous at this time of year, and might I add super nutritious!

you can prep this in advance if you like

Dr. Mark Hyman just came out with a new book called The Blood Sugar Solution Cookbook.  I am a huge Dr. Hyman fan!  I love his message about keeping blood sugar balanced, and I also followed his 30-day blood sugar challenge last year which had great health tips every day.  I haven’t had a ton of time to really get into the new cookbook, but I immediately  made the Asian Slaw since I happened to have all the ingredients on hand.  Yummers!

dressing

Cabbage is one of the most affordable and nutritious vegetables.  It has loads if fiber, Vitamin C and beta-carotene which aids in tissue repair. It can also help to protect against tumors and inhibit the growth of cancerous cells.  Another benefit, especially at this time of year, is that cabbage can stimulate the immune system.  All good stuff!

asian slaw | pamela salzman

This slaw is very easy to make provided you have a good sharp knife so you can slice the cabbage thinly.  It’s a nice change of pace from typical mayonnaise-based slaws (not my fave.)  If you don’t have a nut-free house, definitely add the cashews as that was my favorite part of this salad.  Otherwise, try toasted and salted sunflower seeds.  It was great paired with a piece of simply roasted fish and baked sweet potatoes.  Leftovers were still delicious the next day with a quinoa, sugar snap pea and cilantro salad.  With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, cabbage will be really cheap, so stock up and cook up some news ways to enjoy this tasty and versatile veg!

Asian Slaw

adapted from The Blood Sugar Solution Cookbook
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large head green cabbage finely shredded (I used a medium head.)
  • ½ small head red cabbage finely shredded
  • 1 large carrot peeled and finely shredded
  • 2 teaspoons unrefined toasted sesame oil
  • 3 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 scallions sliced thinly
  • ½ bunch about 1 1/2 oz fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • Sea salt
  • ½ cup chopped roasted unsalted cashews I used roasted salted.

Instructions
 

  • Place all the vegetables in a large serving bowl.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, olive oil, scallions, cilantro, and lime juice, and season to taste with salt.
  • Pour the mixture over the cabbage and toss well.
  • Let the slaw sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with cashews before serving. Any leftovers can be stored in refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Notes

I felt as though it could have used a little more dressing, so I would add the dressing to most of the cabbage and then add more cabbage until you feel as though you have the balance of cabbage to dressing that you’re looking for.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Slow cooker white bean soup with sausage and collard greens recipe (stovetop version, too)

hearty and filling | pamela salzman

I know so many of you are fighting cold weather and stuffy noses, so I thought I would share with you a new favorite soup in our house.  My friend and student Lynette gave me the recipe because it has been popular with her family.  Nothing beats a warm and hearty bowl of soup when you’re not feeling 100% and this one is particularly fantastic since you place everything into a slow cooker in the morning and it’s ready by dinnertime (also great when you’re not feeling 100%.)

always rinse your beans before using

People in my classes have been begging me for more slow cooker recipes, especially the dump-and-start kind.  If you don’t have a slow cooker, do not fear.  I will give you directions for a stovetop version.  Whereas I normally prefer to saute aromatic vegetables before using them in a soup or stew since it adds more flavor, in this recipe the extra step doesn’t make much difference.  Lucky us!  Although the original recipe doesn’t call for it, I prefer to soak my beans to neutralize the phytic acid, a hard-to-digest anti-nutritient.  Soaking is optional though, as the slow cooker will easily cook the beans to a creamy softness without soaking.

I think these are pretty "clean."

put the ingredients in the insert and press "start"

This was a perfect entree soup for dinner paired with corn muffins and a green salad.  More importantly, all my kids, including the picky one, just loved it.  I know some people can’t get into the idea of “just” soup for dinner.  But I promise this is a hearty one.  Beans are loaded with protein and fiber which both help keep you full for longer.  There is also a small amount of sausage in the soup (I used chicken sausage) which you can omit if you’re vegetarian or vegan or use your favorite vegan sausage to add a little smokiness to the soup.  For a more affordable dish, you can use a small ham hock for flavor instead of the sausage.

gorgeous collard greens

remove the stems and chop the greens

add collard greens 20 minutes before serving

In my opinion everything is better, more alkalizing and more nutritious with dark leafy greens.  I hope you are finding new and delicious ways to incorporate this food group into your diet.  Kale seems to be the “it” leafy green of the moment, that it’s nice to see another leafy green in a recipe.  Collard greens are used in this soup, but I’m sure cabbage or kale would be equally delicious here.  This recipe is a keeper no matter how you make it!

white bean and sausage soup | pamela salzman

Slow Cooker White Bean Soup with Sausage and Collard Greens

adapted from my friend Lynette who adapted it from Real Simple Magazine
5 from 2 votes
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound dried beans such as cannellini or great Northern, picked through for stones or debris, soaked* for at least 6 hours in cold water and drained
  • ½ pound andouille sausage links halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise (I used a 12-ounce package of Applegate Farms chicken apple sausage)
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 8 cups low-sodium or unsalted chicken or vegetable broth preferably homemade
  • 1 bunch collard greens stems discarded and leaves cut into-bite-size pieces (about 8 cups)
  • 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
  • sea salt and black pepper to taste salt will vary based on what stock or sausage you use
  • unrefined olive oil for drizzling optional

Instructions
 

  • In a 4-6 quart slow cooker (mine is a 6.5 quart and it turned out great), combine the beans, sausage, onion, celery, and thyme. Add the broth and stir to combine.
  • Cover and cook until the beans are tender, on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4-5 hours.
  • minutes before serving, remove and discard the thyme sprigs and add the collard greens. Cover and cook until the greens are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Drizzle with olive oil, if desired.

Notes

*You don’t have to soak the beans if you don’t have time, but it makes them more digestible. You do need to soak them for the stovetop version.
For a stovetop version, sauté onions and celery in 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add soaked, dried beans, sausage, thyme and stock. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook covered until beans are tender, bout 60-90 minutes. Add greens and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil if desired.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

Baked Berry Oatmeal Recipe

Baked Berry Oatmeal | Pamela Salzman

Baked Berry Oatmeal | Pamela Salzman

My favorite thing about the weekends and vacations is lingering over breakfast.  Weekdays are (sadly) so rushed that we don’t really have more than 10 minutes to sit down and enjoy our morning meal.  Not only are we lacking time to relax and  enjoy, but the five of us never eat breakfast together during the week since we’re all on different schedules.  Of course, I’m guilty of the worst offense of all which is eating in my car on the way to work.  I keep thinking getting up earlier is the answer, but somehow that hasn’t been the solution.  It’s a dreadful habit and I am completely embarrassed that I don’t walk that talk, but I would rather eat my porridge slowly in my car than inhale it in 30 seconds at the kitchen table.

grease your pan and scatter the blueberries on the bottom

The weekends are a whole different story.  I love making breakfast foods that take a little more time.  Just the smells of something wonderful from the oven make me giddy with anticipation while I sip my tea out of a real mug, not portable one, and the newspaper spread out everywhere.  Typical weekend creations are baked frittatas with lots of veggies, whole grain waffles (who has time to wash a waffle iron on a Tuesday morning?), and this amazing, versatile Baked Oatmeal recipe.  I make steel cut oats once or twice per week, but the weekend demands something a little more special.  I originally spotted this recipe by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks fame in Whole Living Magazine a few years ago and instantly knew this would become a regular for us.  I have made this recipe with mixed berries and with thinly sliced apples on the bottom — both delicious — and on my to-do list is to come up with versions using coconut and pumpkin puree and spices.  Mr. Picky likes this enough that I think I could sell this as an after school snack if I tossed in a few chocolate chips.  Heidi’s originally called for sliced bananas on the bottom, which were great if you love a super sweet intense banana flavor.

dry mix goes on top next

pour the wet mix on top

Oats are super hearty and filling and make a great start to the day.  If oatmeal tends to raise your blood sugar too much, make sure you pair it with some protein and fat like nuts.  Walnuts are in this recipe, but I’ve used sliced almonds and pecans too.  Of course, if you’re nut-free, feel free to omit them altogether and enjoy this recipe all the same.  Baked Oatmeal can be easily adapted for dairy-free people by using an alternative milk and coconut oil or Earth Balance; and for vegans by dropping the egg.  It doesn’t slice as nicely without the egg, but it’s no big deal.

top with berries and nuts

My family seems to eat this straight as is, but I love pouring on some extra almond milk or (when I wasn’t dairy-free) dolloping a little yogurt on top.  I have access to fresh blueberries grown in a hothouse all year so I decided to splurge and use them here, but if you are only working with citrus and bananas at this time of year, you can always use frozen fruit.  Although, I just saw the first fresh strawberries at the farmer’s market last weekend which means good fruit is on the horizon and more delicious Baked Oatmeal possibilities await you.

Baked Berry Oatmeal | Pamela Salzman

 

 

Baked Berry Oatmeal

Pamela, adapted from Super Natural Everyday via Whole Living Magazine
5 from 2 votes
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats look for gluten-free oats to make this a gluten-free recipe - Do NOT use steel cut oats
  • ½ cup walnuts almonds or pecans, chopped, divided
  • 1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup or ¼ c. for a more subtle sweetness
  • 2 cups whole milk or plant milk like unsweetened hemp milk almond milk or flax milk
  • 1 large egg or flax egg or 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons unsalted butter unrefined coconut oil or organic Earth Balance, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for greasing baking dish
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen berries divided

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking dish.
  • Combine the baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt in a large bowl. Stir in the oats and ¼ cup nuts.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together maple syrup, milk, egg, melted butter, and pure vanilla. (You can also combine these ingredients in a blender.)
  • Scatter 1 cup of the berries on the bottom of the baking dish and then cover with the oat mixture. Pour wet mixture into the pan over the oats and spread evenly. Sprinkle the rest of the nuts and berries across the top. You can make this up until this point the night before and refrigerate, covered.
  • Bake for 35 minutes or until the oat mixture is set and wet ingredients are absorbed.

Notes

So many people have made this recipe many times, so I don't want to abruptly change it BUT I mix everything together in the same bowl and pour it into the prepared baking dish. You can also assemble this the night before, cover and refrigerate it, and bake it uncovered in the morning. Leftovers are great cold, room temp or reheated.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

 

How to segment citrus fruit

Juicy citrus segments and pinwheels

Right now is probably not the most exciting time of the year for fruit, even in Southern California.  Sure, we have amazing citrus coming our of our ears, but that’s pretty much it.  Pomegranates and persimmons just finished.  Even the apples we  buy now were picked a few months ago and kept in cold storage.  They’re great for cooking in desserts or on top of morning oatmeal, but they’re not as crunchy, crispy, and juicy as they were in November.  Mr. Picky keeps asking me, “are strawberries in season yet?”  Almost, little guy.

slice off a little from the top and bottom

But like I said, citrus fruits are in full force and I buy a wide assortment every week, including blood oranges, navels, Satsuma tangerines, and grapefruits, to name a few.  You probably already know that citrus fruits contain tons of Vitamin C, a very powerful antioxidant which is so helpful during cold and flu season, but keep in mind fresher is better since fruits lose 10% of their Vitamin C every day they are off the vine.  My family goes through quite a bit of citrus fruit between breakfast, lunch boxes, and after school snacks.  Sometimes I’ll even put some citrus segments in salads just for fun.  Blood oranges are especially tasty in Raw Kale Salad or mixed greens with an Asian vinaigrette.

hug the fruit as you cut with the knife

 

But I have made an interesting observation about grapefruit and my family.  They absolutely love grapefruit, but when I buy them, they seem to sit around untouched.  Everyone seems to think of grapefruit as a breakfast-only food and no one takes the time in the morning to cut them for eating.  Is it that we’re always short on time in the morning?  Is it that everyone is too lazy?  Perhaps a little of both.  I supposed grapefruits do take a few minutes more to prep than other citrus fruits since merely peeling a grapefruit leaves the white bitter pith which no one really cares for.   But if I segment a bunch of grapefruits when I come home from the market and put them in a container in the fridge, the kids fight over the last bite.  I’ve even seen Mr. Picky sitting at the kitchen counter with a bowl of grapefruit, a fork and his homework.  Would you call this “healthful convenience food?”  If so, I’ll take the extra time in the beginning of the week to do this for my family if it means they’ll eat fruit instead of the Halloween candy they don’t know I know they have stashed under their bathroom sinks behind the extra toilet paper.  What, was I born yesterday?

segmenting citrus

cut alongside the other membrane and wedge the segment out

this will get eaten lickety split

While I was segmenting grapefruits, a technique you can also use for larger oranges, I decided to demo how to cut smaller citrus into “pinwheel” slices.  These take a little less time and make for a beautiful presentation for citrus salads or to add to winter salads.

segmenting citrus

pinwheels

pinwheels

I didn’t have any images for this post, but I have done a citrus pinwheel salad with oranges, blood oranges, and tangerines which is just so pretty.  On the  site I posted a salad with spinach, blood oranges and beets to which you can add seared wild salmon.  That is a great light meal for a weeknight or guests.  Grapefruit and avocado is a classic pairing.  However you slice them, citrus fruits are worth the effort!

segmented and pinwheel citrus | pamela salzman

how to segment citrus fruit

  1. Using a very sharp knife, slice a bit off the top and the bottom of the grapefruit so it sits flat on a cutting board.
  2. Starting at the top of the grapefruit, cut the peel away from the fruit following the natural curve of the fruit down towards the cutting board.  The idea is to take off the peel, white pith and membrane, but not to remove too much of the fruit.  Continue around the entire grapefruit until no more peel is remaining.
  3. Take the grapefruit in one hand positioned over a bowl (to catch the juices) and the knife in the other hand.  Identify the white lines in the grapefruit which separate the segments from each other and slice as close to the white line as possible cutting down to the center of the grapefruit.  Cut alongside the membrane holding the segment and wedge the piece out with the knife.
  4. Continue with the remaining segments.  The leftover membranes can be eaten if you like.

 

how to cut citrus pinwheels

  1. Using a very sharp knife, slice a bit off the top and the bottom of the fruit so it sits flat on a cutting board.
  2. Starting at the top of the fruit, cut the peel away following the natural curve of the fruit down towards the cutting board.  The idea is to take off the peel, white pith and membrane, but not to remove too much of the fruit.  Continue around the entire piece of fruit until no more peel is remaining.
  3. Place the fruit on its side and slice crosswise into pinwheels.

 

Even Easier Homemade Almond Milk Recipe

homemade almond milk | pamela salzman

I know I’ve already posted a How-to-Make-Almond-Milk-from-Scratch recipe.  In fact, I gave you three different versions!  But my how-to involves slipping the skins off the soaked almonds before blitzing them in your blender which is really no big deal.  The reason I do that is because I went to an ayurvedic cooking lecture many, many years ago and the teacher went into great detail about almonds.  Almonds are wonderful and alkalizing and high in protein and good fats, BUT (I was hanging on the edge of my seat when I heard that “BUT”) they can be very hard to digest unless they are soaked.  AND the skins can be a little bitter.  AND the skins cause wrinkles.  Whaaaaaat????   I will tell you no one was listening until she said that and then every manicured brow in the room went up.  “Did she say almond skins cause WRINKLES?”

So obviously do you really think I was going to start eating almond skins after that?  Silly question.  Duh, noooooo.  Of course I never did any research as to the validity of that statement and I still haven’t.  But I did research how to make almond milk from other sources and everyone says to slip those skins off, perhaps due more to a bitter aftertaste than the wrinkles theory.  But your friend Pamela here has gotten much busier since my last almond milk post and I have become practically dairy-free, so I have been making almond milk about twice a week.  And there came a point when I decided that slipping those almond skins off was GIVING me wrinkles!  Or maybe because I was doing it while watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Oy.  Anyhoo, I decided to see what would happen if I soaked the almonds, drained them and blended them in fresh water WITH their supposedly bitter, age-advancing skins.  Gasp.  No difference.  Same delicious taste and my skin still looks like it did before I drank the almond milk.  Life-changing moment!

I also now exclusively use a nut milk bag (I know, sounds nasty, but totally fabulous!) instead of my fine mesh sieve to squeeze out every last drop from the blended almonds.  If you don’t have a nut milk bag (gives me the willies every time I type that, but a great product, really!), a fine mesh sieve works great.  You just really want to press down on the pureed almonds or squeeze them with your hands as I am convinced that the creamiest part of the almond milk comes from that last squeeze.

I use almond milk all the time, especially to finish off hot breakfast porridges like oats and millet.  I use it in acai bowls and smoothies, as well as chia seed pudding and desserts.  The girls have been using it over granola and my friend Matt pours it over cereal and in coffee.  Just remember, homemade almond milk is pure goodness with no preservatives so it doesn’t last as long as the stuff in a box.  What else do you use almond milk for?

 

Basic Almond Milk

Pamela
5 from 2 votes
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Instructions
 

  • Soak 1 cup raw almonds in bowl with plenty of room temperature water for 6-8 hours. (Soaking will make the almonds softer and more digestible.)
  • Drain the almonds in a colander and rinse with fresh water.
  • Place the almonds in a blender or Vitamix. Add 3 cups fresh water and blend until the nuts are pulverized.
  • Strain through a fine mesh sieve, cheesecloth or a nut milk bag into a glass bowl. If using a sieve, use a spoon to scrape the almond meal around and allow as much liquid to drain through.
  • Transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate, covered for up to 4 days. Add the remaining pulp, sweetened with honey or maple syrup, to hot cereal, granola or fruit.

Notes

Almond milk with coconut water:
Soak almonds in regular water, but use coconut water to blend with the soaked almonds.
Almond milk sweetened with dates:
Follow directions for basic almond milk, but blend soaked almonds with water and 8 pitted dates. You can add a drop of vanilla and sea salt, if you like, but it is delicious just like this. Of course you can sweeten almond milk with stevia or honey or whatever you like, but I think dates are the best! You don’t need to sweeten the remaining pulp if you choose to eat it since it is already sweet from the dates.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Slow cooker whole chicken and stock recipe

slow cooker whole chicken | pamela salzman

Daughter #2 asked me the other day if I was “ever going to put that thing away?”  She was referring to my slow cooker, of course.  Not that Daughter #2 is complaining since she’s the first one to the dinner table every night and has always been the easiest one to cook for.  But she had a point.  That slow cooker has has become part of the family!

salting the chicken early is key!

But I wasn’t about to shelve my new baby so soon.  Just when I thought cooking a whole chicken couldn’t get any easier, I decided to put my Easy No-Fail Roast Chicken method to the test in…the slow cooker.  Believe me, I don’t normally mess with the easiest, most popular dinners in my repertoire.  But roasting a whole chicken is something that needs to be started well before I get home some days and I need a back-up.  That and I was on a roll and feeling lucky, so I figured this was going to work like everything else I’ve been trying.  I decided to prep the chicken in basically the same way I do an oven-roasted chicken — rubbed on the inside and out with some kosher salt early on, stuffed with a bit of fresh thyme and some crushed garlic and cooked on a bed of onions.  I usually add cut lemons to the cavity, but I was nervous that cooking the lemons for a long time would result in a bitter taste, so I left those out.  The only other change I made was to rub the outside of the chicken with a little olive oil mixed with paprika so that the skin would get a little color and not be pale and unattractive.

sprinkle with paprika and olive oil

The conclusion is that I think I should call this recipe “Easier than Easy No-Fail Roast Chicken and Still So Darn Good.”  The chicken was predictably fall-off-the-bones.  In fact, I had a hard time getting the chicken out of the slow cooker in one piece!  My kids love super soft meat and my husband likes chicken that is beyond well done.  I’ve made chicken once or twice a week for the last 17 1/2 years and he has asked me every single time if the chicken is cooked through.  No comment on whether or not that is annoying since my husband occasionally reads my blog AND Valentine’s Day is coming up.  Get my drift?  My point is that this chicken satisfies everyone, including me since it takes all of 5 minutes to prep and you can do it 8 hours before you want to eat dinner.  “Is this cooked through?”  “Darling, it’s been cooking for 8 hours.”

slow cooker whole chicken

So you all know I am completely obsessed with making homemade chicken stock.  I swear, if teaching cooking classes and blogging doesn’t work out, I will go into the homemade stock-making business.  The world must know the goodness of homemade stock somehow!  So before I served this chicken to the family, I removed and reserved all the bones.  I put the bones back in there with a chicken back I had in the freezer plus some stock veggies (onions, carrots, celery) and water and I made chicken stock overnight.  It was delicious.  And because there was no skin and foam and such, it turned out to be such a clear stock with minimal fat.  It’s crazy not to try this!  (Sorry I don’t have photos.  It was too dark in my kitchen and the images didn’t turn out well.)

lovely juices on the bottom can be used for gravy

Cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker opens up so many possibilities for what you can do with the meat.  You don’t have to cut the chicken into traditional breast, thigh, drumstick pieces.  You can use the meat just as you would rotisserie chicken meat and heaven knows there have been more articles on what to do with rotisserie chicken meat than how to get your baby to sleep through the night.   Just to remind — chicken soup, enchiladas, tacos, pot pie, sandwiches, salads and so on.  For those of you who do not have a slow cooker and feel excluded, please revisit the Easy No Fail Roast Chicken Recipe.  I still love you and I will put away the slow cooker and come back to you.  Eventually.  Wink, wink.

falling off the bones

 

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken and Stock

Pamela
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 whole roasting chicken about 4-5 pounds (save the neck for stock)
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4-5 cloves garlic crushed
  • ½ bunch fresh thyme or a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 2 Tablespoons unrefined olive oil
  • 1-2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 brown onion peeled and sliced into thick slices
  • For the stock:
  • Some additional bony chicken pieces if you have them such as backs, necks, wings and/or feet, up to 2 pounds
  • 2 brown onions cut into large pieces
  • 3 carrots cut into large chunks
  • 3 celery stalks cut into large chunks
  • 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • water amount depends on size of your slow cooker

Instructions
 

  • When you get home from the market, unwrap the chicken and remove any giblets from the cavity. Save the neck for stock.
  • Take a heaping tablespoon of kosher salt and rub it around the inside of the cavity. Any remaining salt on your hands can be rubbed on the outside of the chicken. Rewrap the chicken and refrigerate until ready to cook. This can be done up to two days in advance.
  • The day you are making the chicken, remove it from the wrapping and sprinkle a few pinches of black pepper, as well as the garlic and thyme in the cavity of the chicken.
  • Truss the chicken by tying the legs together. Rub the outside of the chicken with olive oil and paprika.
  • Place the onion slices on the bottom of the slow cooker insert and place the chicken on top of the onions. You do not need any liquid, I promise. Cover and cook on LOW for 7- 8 hours or HIGH 4-5 hours.
  • Serve with the cooked onions and pan juices, if desired.

Notes

Leave whatever you didn’t use in the slow cooker (juices and onions).
Remove all the bones from the entire chicken and place in the slow cooker with any additional chicken parts you have, including the neck from the chicken you just cooked. Add vegetables, vinegar, and enough water to come up to about an inch from the top.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or overnight. My slow cooker automatically goes to WARM mode after 8 hours.
Strain and use immediately if you don’t see too much fat at the top or cool slightly and refrigerate. When cold, skim and discard any fat from the top. Stock can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!