Homemade Power Snack

I'm not quite sure what to call these treats - they sort of taste like a Luna bar or a Power bar, except they're probably cheaper, homemade, and maybe even healthier. It does make me think though to make these for my next mountain bike outing instead of using Goo.

This recipe calls for carob powder, which is a healthy alternative for cocoa. It tastes like chocolate, but unlike chocolate, carob is caffeine-free, oxalate-free, cholesterol-free, and full of vitamins and minerals. Click here to learn more. I'm so glad I've learned about it because I love chocolate, I just don't like the way it makes me feel.

You can find carob in the baking isle. I use Bob's Red Mill Toasted Carob Powder, but any will do I'm sure. These minibars are so easy to make, and I love that they're a healthy alternative that fills that sweet tooth craving.

The fruit/nut mixture I used at the end of this recipe was anything I had in my cupboard - in this case, coconut, raisins, walnuts, almonds, flax seed, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds. So that it wasn't super chunky, I combined them all and pulsed them in my handheld cuisanart bowl first. The extra mixture that I didn't use in these treats I just saved to throw in our breakfast oatmeal or a salad. After all, you can't go wrong with a little nut mix.

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey (you could probably use Agave too, but I buy honey from town just to keep it local)
1 cup carob powder
Nuts, seeds, almonds, raisins, coconut (amount desirable)

Warm peanut butter on low until smooth. Add carob powder. Mix in the rest of the mixture.

Red Lentil Mulligatawny with Apple-Celery Salsa

This week my goal is to have way more veggies on our plates than meat. Maybe even crowd out the meat. Why? Because I want us eating more anti-cancer foods. Lentils made that list as well as spices instead of salt. So I did a search for lentils on myrecipes.com and found this soup. It was actually really good and filling (this from a husband who believes in meat for a meal). It was embarrassingly quick and easy to whip up - especially to look so gourmet with the fresh salsa on top. The salsa is the perfect completion to this soup.

Make sure you use red lentils as the green and brown lentils will create a different consistency and taste. Also, if you truly want to make this vegetarian, substitute the magic mineral broth stock for the chicken stock. Enjoy!

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup soup and 1/4 cup salsa)

Salsa:

• 2/3  cup  finely chopped Granny Smith apple
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped celery
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh cilantro
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice

Soup:

• 3 1/2  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  cup  dried small red lentils
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1 1/2  cups  light coconut milk
• 3  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 1  teaspoon  grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground turmeric
• 1  teaspoon  fresh lime juice
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

To prepare salsa, combine the first 4 ingredients; cover and chill.

To prepare soup, combine broth, lentils, and onion in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until lentils are tender. Pour half of lentil mixture in a blender; let stand 5 minutes. Process until smooth. Pour pureed lentil mixture into a bowl.

Pour remaining lentil mixture into blender; process until smooth. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, ginger, cumin, and turmeric; process until smooth. Return coconut milk mixture and remaining pureed lentil mixture to pan. Cover and simmer over medium heat 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 1 teaspoon juice, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with 1/4 cup salsa.

Magic Mineral Broth (tm)

(adapted from Rebecca Katz)
I made this broth a few weeks ago and froze it and am using it as the base for our chicken noodle soup tonight. It is SUPER DUPER nutritious. You can use this for everything to make your immune system kick into high gear: tea, base for soups, or rice dishes. "This pot of yum is high in potassium and numerous trace minerals that are often depleted by cancer therapy."

Chop all ingredients into chunks and throw them in the pot, roots, skins, and all.

6 unpeeled carrots with half the green tops, cut into thirds
2 unpeeled medium yellow onions, cut into chunks
1 leek, both white and green parts, cut into thirds
4 unpeeled cloves garlic, halved
1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 medium red potatoes with skins on, quartered
2 Japanese or Hannah's yams or sweet potatoes with skins on, quartered
1 Garnet yam with skin on, quartered
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 (6 by 1-inch) strip of kombu
2 bay leaves
12 black peppercorns
4 whole allspice or juniper berries

In a 12-quart or larger stockpot, combine all ingredients. Fill the pot to 2 inches belwo the rim with water, cover, and bring to a boil.

Remove the lid, decrease the heat to low, and simmer a minimum of 2 hours. As the stock simmers some of the water will evaporate; add more if the vegetables begin to peek out. Simmer until the full richness of the vegetables can be tasted.

Strain the stock using a large coarse-mesh strainer (remember to use a heat-resistant container underneath). Bring to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing.

Makes 6 to 7 quarts

Tip: After you make this great broth, eat the veggies! I say that, but they were too mushy for my liking, BUT I have a 10-month old baby and I pureed the vegetables and used part for the rest of the week and froze the rest. He LOVED it. And I felt like a good mama because it was so healthy. Your babe is sure to grow healthy and strong. He jumped up to 87% on the height chart after eating this. Well maybe it wasn't completely from this.