Leftover Ingredients...I'll Fix That!

Leftover Ingredients…I ‘ll Fix That!

When I first started cooking I found myself spending lots of money on a wide variety of products because I wanted to keep experimenting.  After making these delicious recipes I found in cookbooks or online, I would look in my pantry or refrigerator and get so frustrated not knowing what to do with the leftover ingredients.  Over the past few years I have developed a deeper understanding of food and flavors.  I am beginning to learn what spices and flavors can be substituted and which ones I really need.  But more importantly, I am getting better at finishing the products that are in my cupboards.

Over the past two weeks I have had a handful of friends express their success in making the cereal recipe I recently posted.  Thanks for reading and keep on cooking!  And as a conscious coach, I am aware that you now have about ½ bag of hemp seeds, ¾ of a bag of flax meal, pecans, maple syrup, some almond flour and gluten free oats sitting in your pantry and refrigerator (flax meal and hemp seeds should be stored in the refrigerator). 

You can use the hemp seeds and flax meal for smoothies and salad dressings.  You can use the oatmeal to make oatmeal and the pecans you can eat or you can go through the following recipes and make something new!

  

Banana Carrot Muffins – Left over ingredients gone wild!

Preheat oven on 350

In a large mixing bowl place the following ingredients:

2 cups of Arrow Head Mills Multigrain Pancake Mix

½ cup of almond flour

3 tablespoons of hemp seeds

2 tablespoons of flax meal

1½ tablespoons of fresh ginger (store in an airtight container and it keeps in the freezer for a few months)

½ teaspoon of cinnamon

¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, salt, baking soda, baking powder

Mix together

Puree 1½ bananas and 3 carrots and place on top of the mixture – don’t mix in yet

In a separate bowl combine the following ingredients:

½ cup of maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 stick of butter melted

Beat together for about 30 seconds and add to the large mixing bowl

Mix all the ingredients together and add a smidge more than ½ cup of water (if the batter seems too thick add 2 more tablespoons of water) and continue stirring until the water is absorbed into the batter

Use two muffin trays with paper liners - Fill muffin cups up about ¾ of the way and bake for 25 minutes switching the muffin trays mid way through

These muffins are wonderful the first few hours out of the oven.  On day two and three they are a bit denser than the average muffin but the flavor is still YUM!

Sorry I have no photos to show you because these muffins got eaten too quickly!

Kim’s Fully Loaded Pancakes

Ingredients:  ¾ cup Arrowhead Mills Multigrain Pancake Mix, ½ cup whole milk (or milk substitute), 1 tablespoon of canola oil, ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract, ½ cooked medium size sweet potato, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, ¼ nutmeg, 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal, 2/3 cup of pecans (1 large handful) cut into small pieces or pureed, 1 cup of water – You may have to add more water for a thinner pancake. The sweet potato thickens the batter and can make the inner part of the pancake difficult to cook through.  I like to make the pancake thinner so it cooks through.

1.)   Stir the above ingredients in a medium bowl

2.)   Heat the griddle on medium

3.)   Coat the griddle with butter or coconut oil and spoon batter onto griddle making sure the pancakes are a bit on the thin side so they cook through

Serve pancakes with peanut butter, almond butter or sun butter and a small drizzle of maple syrup.

For pumpkin pancakes just replace the sweet potato with a half a can of pumpkin.

Love deeply and eat mindfully,

Kim Gilroy - kimgilroyinsideout

Valentine's Day Moose

 Valentine's Day Moose

This recipe has been a work in progress for about 3 months now.  If you gave up chocolate for Lent, I think you should reconsider with the good stuff.  How about adding in 100% cocoa instead!  

Avocado Moose

Ingredients: 1 avocado, 1 banana, 4 tablespoons of maple syrup, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 small finger pinch of salt, 4 tablespoons of 100% raw cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons of heavy cream (4 if you are not afraid of a little cream)

Place all ingredients into a food processor and puree for about 30-60 seconds.  Unplug the food processor and use a spoon to scoop out the moose.  Top with almond slivers or coconut flakes.

Love extra deeply today and taste every bite,

Kim Gilroy - kimgilroyinsideout

My Love Affair With Cereal

                                                            My Love Affair With Cereal

I can remember the taste, the crunch in my mouth and the sweetened milk left over:  Cocoa Puffs, Count Chocula, Froot Loops, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Pebbles, Cap’n Crunch (too much in a spoonful would rip the top of my mouth!), Frosted Flakes, Trix.  During the week, I was not allowed to eat these delightful treats.  But come Saturday morning . . . Whoo-Hoo!!!  And although I was allowed to eat these breakfast treats on the weekend only, with the amount of table sugar I added to my Rice Krispies and the amount of syrup I poured onto my Eggo Waffles during the week, I may as well have been amped up on Froot Loops as I headed to school!

I have a deep-rooted love affair with sugar cereals.  The texture, taste and sugar high left me a junkie.  In college, unaware of the harm I was doing to my body, I would often eat 1 or 2 large bowls of one of the above-mentioned delights as dessert after dinner.  YUM!   After eating I would go back to the dorm, turn on Michael Jackson, Jock Jams, or a “Baby’s Got Back” single, and proceed with a full dance routine (much to the delight and amusement of the other girls in my dorm) until I ran out of steam.  After the show . . . I would typically crash and fall into a deep slumber.  And then I would wake up to my roommate (thank goodness she cared) reminding me that I could not graduate without passing Shakespeare! 

I laugh at the memories and then get sad when I see these cereals in grocery stores.  It’s personal.  I know there are other kids out there who, like me, just can’t handle that kind of food.  And just because the packages now proclaim that my erstwhile weekend treats (and dessert in college!) are now fortified with vitamins and prepared with “whole grains” does not mean that they have become any better for us. 

I can’t believe I am confessing this.  One day I was in COSCO and the woman in front of me had a basket full of beautiful fruits and vegetables along with a Kellogg’s Cereal Apple Jack and Froot Loop variety pack.  She had two teenage girls and two toddlers with her.  I put my hand on her vegetables, looked at her, smiled and said: “These look good.”  She just smiled back and at this point I realized she had know idea what I just said.   That’s fine and thank goodness what I really wanted to say didn’t come out of my mouth.  And then it did.  One of her teenage daughters came around to where I was standing.  I looked at her square in the eye, put my hand on the Kellogg’s Apple Jack and Fruit Loop variety pack and with the other hand pointed to her younger siblings and said: “Your mother can’t give this to them.  They are not healthy.”  I don’t even remember what happened after that.  I got really hot and wasn’t sure how to feel about my intrusion into a complete stranger’s dietary choices for her family.  As I reflect, it was really none of my business.  

But my passion runs deep with breakfast cereal.  That is why I now make my own.  I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as our family does! 

Homemade Cereal – Gluten Free

6 Cups of Gluten Free Rolled Oats

1 Cup of Hemp Seeds

½ Cup of Flax Meal

3 Cups of Almond Flour

1 ½ Cups of Pecans Pureed

A Smidge More Than 1/3 of a Cup of Maple Syrup

Mix well in a very large bowl and transfer onto 2 tinfoil lined baking pans.  Place in the oven at 350 and bake for about 25 min (give or take a few minutes). Make sure you stir every 7 minutes and switch the cooking racks once or twice.

After it cools, store in the refrigerator.

Love deeply and eat mindfully,

Kim Gilroy - kimgilroyinsideout

kimgilroyinsideout

kimgilroyinsideout

I received my Holistic Health Counseling Certificate from The Institute of Integrative Nutrition in 2008. I also hold a Masters Degree in Education and Special Education and a Bachelors Degree in Communications. I have spent the past five years using my knowledge to feed my family and myself wholesome, good food.  I recently started blogging about health and wellness (kimgilroyinsideout.blogspot.com) and continue to research and explore personal wellness, lifestyles and recipes. Through my Taste and Talk Series, individual sessions and wellness lectures, I look forward to helping people understand their bodies and the lifestyle that will allow them to meet their health and wellness goals.  By sharing information, healthy tips, recipes and digging beyond the average “diet plan,” I am excited to be a part of the wellness movement that is changing the way we approach healthy living and personal fulfillment.

There is a wealth of information about diet and nutrition and it can get confusing.  Talk shows, magazines, books and diet clinics provide information on health and wellness that is often inconsistent. I don’t believe in dieting.  I believe in living.  Too many of us walk around tired and depleted.  We think that by eliminating certain foods or trying a new diet we will find the body and energy that we desire.  In the five years that I have been studying health and wellness, the many trends and conflicting opinions on what it means to be healthy have made my head spin.  It has left me only to rely on one thing: what my body tells me.

What we put into our bodies is vital.  The food that we eat is the fuel that makes our bodies and brains run.  It’s taken years and I am still tweaking, but I am running on some good stuff and I want to share all my secrets!

I can’t wait to help you feed your soul and nourish your life.  Below please find a list of my services.

Love deeply and eat mindfully,

Kim Gilroy – kimgilroyinsideout@blogspot.com

kimgilroy@gmail.com

My Services.

Taste and Talk – Group Sessions

Experience food.   Prepare, taste, and discuss quality, organic, whole food.  2-hour sessions will include the following:

• Taste and discover a variety of ways to get fruits and vegetables into every meal
• Learn how to incorporate whole grains into your diet and understand gluten
• Discuss and reflect on current wellness habits and learn how to integrate practices to build on your lifestyle needs
• Learn how to incorporate chocolate and other “can’t have foods” into your life
• Receive recipes, health and wellness handouts and a gift to take home

  

If you have a group of friends that would like to cover a specific topic please contact me.  Other Taste and Talks include: ”Eat Your Greens” “What’s the Deal with Gluten and Whole Grains” “Cook Once, Eat Twice“ “What are toxins? Do I need to eat organic?  Do I need to do a Cleanse?”

Price: $40 per person

Private Sessions

Private sessions are designed to meet a client’s individual needs.  Through cooking and counseling, clients will learn the basics of healthy food preparation and healthy living. Clients will use Integrative Nutrition’s “adding in” theory to change current eating habits.  Each 90-minute session includes the following:

• Prepare and take home one healthy organic meal (to feed minimum of four people)
• One-on-one coaching sessions to review current health and discuss how to integrate wellness practices into your lifestyle
• Receive informational handouts based on individual goals
• Follow-up motivational e-mails with notes, goals, recommended shopping list and other wellness tips for your individual needs
• Unlimited access to call or e-mail me with any wellness questions or success stories
• Receive recipes and a gift to take home

Price: $125 per person

Teen Group Sessions

With today’s schedules and demands, pre-teens and teenagers need a healthy, balanced diet more than ever. It is important that they feed their bodies and brains with the proper foods in order to maintain optimal wellness. 2-hour sessions include the following:

• Discuss, learn and reflect about health and wellness through cooking, interactive games and creative journaling
• Prepare, taste and discover fruits, vegetables and whole grains
• Students will understand that the phrase “healthy diet” means a lifestyle filled with amazing food and wonderful choices
• Follow-up motivational e-mails with notes, goals, recommended shopping list and other wellness tips (parents will be included on all e-mails)
• Unlimited access to call or e-mail me with any wellness questions or success stories
• Receive recipes, health and wellness handouts and a gift to take home

Price: $40

Let my passion for wellness become your resource.  Experience, taste and explore wellness with Kim Gilroy of kimgilroyinsideout.  Open for business and so excited to meet you!

Love deeply and eat mindfully,

Kim Gilroy – kimgilroyinsideout@blogspot.com

kimgilroy@gmail.com

Bone-Sticking Good

Bone-Sticking Good

This time of year, it can be tough to motivate to reach for vegetables and fruit.  It’s so cold and crisp out, the last thing I want to do is reach for a carrot stick, apple or any other veggie and fruit that has a cold and crispy feel.  The vegetables don’t even look as appealing in the grocery store.  The colors don’t seem as vibrant and the leaves seemed to have lost their luster.  If you are uninspired to pack a salad for lunch and raw veggie for a snack, you are not alone.  For me, snacks have been more along the lines of dried fruit and nuts, and meal times have been a bit heartier as well. 

In October, I went through a phase where I stalked vegan websites and blogs.  As a wellness coach, I too can get sucked into a theory or concept that sounds good and may work well for others.  As I study the recipes on these sites (and look at the pictures), I sometimes think, “I really wouldn’t be missing out on anything.”   The vegan concept makes sense to me.  In fact, Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo (Who wrote Eat Right 4 Your Type) says my blood type would thrive on a vegan diet.

So why am I not a vegan (or a vegetarian for that matter).  There are a bunch of reasons.  But the number one reason is winter.  Winter stew, chili, chicken soup, Sunday sauce and my grandmother’s American cheese and chopped meat casserole.  Once the winter comes, I crave bone-sticking foods.

In today’s recipe, I have taken a family favorite of chopped meat, cheese and macaroni and turned it into a casserole that has a balance of meat, vegetables and whole grain pasta. I hope you enjoy the following bone-sticking recipe as much as my family does.

American Classic

Ingredients:  1 pound of ground chop meat, 1 medium-large yellow onion, 1 bunch of collard greens, 6 carrots, 1 of a head of cauliflower, 28 oz can of chunky tomato sauce, 8 slices of American cheese, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon of garlic salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, 1 ½ bags of Tinkyada Pasta - Joy Brown Rice Pasta - Elbow (or pasta of choice),

1.)   Peel, rinse and chop vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, collard greens and onion) and place on the side.

2.)   Place sliced onions in a large pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

3.)   Put stove on medium high and sauté the onion for about 6-7 minutes or until the smallest pieces start to slightly brown.

4.)   Place chop meat in the pot and stir in with onions and lower the heat to medium.

5.)   Add 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and continue to stir.

6.)   When meat is almost cooked (almost all browned with just touches of pink meat remaining) add the chopped carrots, cauliflower, and collard greens mixing well after you add each vegetable.

7.)   Add 28oz can of chunky tomato sauce and then fill the empty can ½ of the way with water making sure you get the remnants of the left over sauce mixed in with the water and add to the pot.

8.)   Stir well and add ½ teaspoon of garlic salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, 1/8 teaspoon of salt.

9.)   Cook on medium heat, stirring often until the ingredients come to a light boil; then place stove on low.

10.)  Place 1½ bags of Tinkyada Pasta Joy Brown Rice Elbow Pasta into a pot of boiling water (about 6.5 quarts) and cook the pasta al dente.

11.)  Drain the pasta and slowly add it to the large pot of vegetables and meat.

12.)  Stir well.

13.)  Place the mixture in a medium size baking dish filling it half way.  Take two pieces of American cheese break them into small pieces and place over the mixture.  Make a second layer in the same dish and break up three pieces of American cheese for the top layer.

14.)  Cover with tinfoil and place in it the oven for 25 – 30 minutes.

This recipe makes enough for two medium-size baking dishes so this makes for a great “cook once, eat twice” meal.  If you are saving the second dish for another night, let it cool to room temperature.  Then cover with plastic wrap and a layer of tin foil and put it in the refrigerator.  When you take it out to cook, MAKE SURE YOU TAKE PLASTIC WRAP OFF.  Then, put the tin foil back on top and bake on 350 for 35 – 40 minutes (It takes longer than the first dish because it comes out of the refrigerator cold.  If you can remember to take it out and let it come to room temperature before baking, cook time will be a bit quicker).

Enjoy!

Love deeply and eat mindfully,

Kim Gilroy - kimgilroyinsideout

Kim's Top 3

Happy New Year!  I wish you all health and happiness in 2013.  As the holiday season comes to an end and your resolutions start to take shape, be sure to proceed with moderation.  Diet overhauls and weight loss goals can be fleeting because they often leave us deprived and frustrated about all the foods we “can’t” have. 

Most diets will work in the short term, because they cause you to be more conscious about food choices you make and limits you set.  But most are not designed for the long haul. They tend to be too monotonous, deprivation-driven, or extreme to stick with.  And to the degree that many popular diets are all of the above, their effects tend to be easily reversed, leading many dieters into an agonizing loop of gaining, losing, and gaining again – which is as bad for health as it is for morale. - Eat, Drink, and Weigh Less by Mollie Katzen and Walter Willett, M.D.

As we start the New Year, here are three realistic goals to focus on as you start your 2013 wellness journey:

Kim’s Top 3

1.)   Drink more water;

2.)   Add more vegetables and fruits to your diet; and

3.)   Experiment with cooking (“Cooking Light” is a magazine where I find good recipes, or find a cook book that inspires you)

Sharing my energy and thoughts through this blog has helped me in my own wellness journey this past year.  Thank you for being my audience and sharing in my love and passion.  I look forward to digging deeper and sharing more in the New Year!

Love deeply and eat mindfully,

Kim Gilroy – kimgilroyinsideout