Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Normally, I just open a jar of organic spaghetti sauce, but I am finding it harder and harder to find sauces that don't contain extra sugars, plus my family eats most of the sauce and there are hardly any leftovers, so I decided to venture and make my own. It was worth it and not very difficult at all!

*I used canned organic tomatoes, but next time I will definitely use fresh ones!

3 cans (28 oz) organic diced tomatoes (or 6 small cans)-I would guess 6-9 cups fresh
1 can (6oz) organic tomato paste
4-6 carrots diced (or pureed to keep hidden if your kids don't eat them)
1/2 onion pureed
1 cup diced mushrooms
6-8 garlic cloves
4 Tbsp fresh basil
2 Tbsp dried organic oregano
1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (if you like red pepper, you could puree the real thing also)
Sea Salt
Ground Pepper

1. Puree/Dice the carrots, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and basil in a blender or food processor and toss into the crock pot (these develop into a great flavor in the sauce).
2. Puree 2 of the 3 cans of diced tomatoes to make a smoother sauce (or less if you enjoy chunkier sauces) and add into the crock pot.
3. Place the remaining ingredients into the crock pot.
*Cook on high for 6-8 hours
*Cook on low for 8-10 hours
*Or here's what I did since I was home on and off and I enjoyed sampling throughout the day...
-Cook on low for the first 5 hours, then switch to high for 2-3 hours and open the cover a bit to let the excess water soak up. I then separated the sauce in half and froze half of it, while I browned some grass-fed ground beef and added it to the remaining sauce for dinner that night. We were one our way to swimming lessons, so I set my crock pot on warm and simmered the meat sauce for 2 more hours until dinner time!

You really can't over do it (just don't add the meat too soon or it might get dry)...I tasted it throughout and the more it cooked, the tastier if was. It isn't sweet like jarred sauce (because it lacks cancer causing sugar) but it was very good! We ate this with brown rice pasta, but I actually ate mine mostly plain!

Berry or Rhubarb Crisp

I love a good berry crisp, and my hubby loves a sweet rhubarb crisp! The usual crisps contains lots of sugar (probably why they are so tasty and addicting), but I found a yummy version that is sweetened with raw, pure maple syrup and it's super yummy!

Filling:
4 cups berries (or rhubarb)
1/4 cup brown rice flour (you could use anything-coconut flour, almond flour, whole wheat flour, spelt, etc.)
2 tsp. pure organic maple syrup

*Mix together and place into an 8 x 8 baking dish (or 4-5 small ramekins for a dinner party)

Topping:
3/4-1 cup whole oats (use gluten-free if you have gluten issues)
4 Tbsp. MILA raw whole chia seeds
2 Tbsp. pure organic maple syrup (I used 3 for rhubarb to offset the bitterness)
3 Tbsp. melted organic butter (or coconut oil)
1-2 tsp. cinnamon

*Mix together and spread on top of the berries/rhubarb. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Hint: These might be extra tasty with coconut milk ice cream on top!

Roasted Veggies

Through our csa (farmofplenty.com), we have gotten lots of fresh and new vegetables. I have been trying to figure out what to do with some of them, so I did some searching online and found a site that said 'you can roast any root vegetable'-so I tried it. I decided to roast a mixture of vegetables and we tried them out. Our 3 year-old liked all but one (not bad)!

2 Tbsp. Coconut Oil (melted)
Sea Salt
Pepper
Any seasoning of your choice
Yukon Red potatoes
Kohlrabi
Radishes
Turnips
Sweet Potatoes

First, I peeled and cut the veggies, then tossed them in the oil and seasoning mixture. I then roasted at about 400 degrees for about an hour, stirring every 15 minutes! They were nice and crispy and full of fun flavors!

Crispy Chicken Nuggets

Do your kids love chicken nuggets or fast food? Well, here's a recipe to make them happy and keep them healthy too! My 3 year old has never had McDonald's and she has never had a chicken nugget either, she eats grilled and roasted chicken better than many adults but she loved these nonetheless. She kept telling me how she'd never tried nuggets before, but she liked these nuggets...she also asked if they were healthy (she is well-trained)! I also do an in-home daycare and have a few very picky eaters who don't often eat any of the healthy options I offer them, but even they were excited to try these, even though they weren't greasy pieces of fast food chicken!

1 lb free-range, hormone free chicken (I bought tenderloins and kept them in big pieces, but you could cut them small into nugget shapes as well)
2 cups organic brown rice crisps cereal (I got this at Valley Natural Foods, but Whole Foods also has this)
1/2-1tsp. seasoning (I used sea salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, and some chicken seasoning)
1 whole egg
1 egg white
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

First, place the brown rice crisp cereal and seasoning in a food processor until desired consistency, I made mine fairly smooth. Then, prepare egg wash by using the whole egg, the egg white, and the almond milk and mixing together. Begin the dipping process: Egg, Cereal, Egg, Cereal (I dipped twice in each to make sure I coated them well and they were nice and crispy). Then, place them on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for ten minutes on each side! Serve with organic ketchup or barbeque sauce (or plain) and lots of fresh veggies (or maybe some roasted sweet potato fries)! Enjoy.

Mashed "No-tatoes"

Don't get me wrong, I love mashed potatoes, but I save the real thing for holiday/vacation meals. Here is a yummy alternative to those to make your meal a bit healthier.

1 head cauliflower
Organic butter
Sea Salt
Almond Milk

Steam the cauliflower until soft. Mash with a potato masher, and season with butter, sea salt, and a splash of almond milk until somewhat creamy! Mmmm