santa's got a sweet spot for mamacita's holiday G-hoppers

watch me now - to the mullies with holiday G-hoppers on youtube

the kids and i cooked (or should i say mixed?) this craziness up together this past sunday, november 30. i finished editing the video on tuesday, december 2nd, our lovely 14 year wedding anniversary. 

it's a special video because of the sweet timing + it truly captures the energy, the fun and the unpredictable adventures we're having cooking together in the kitchen. this recipe was developed with gumption (no recipe to lead the way, just concepts i have learned over the last 2+ years of clean food experimenting). i'm so very proud of it.

enjoy and make this recipe stat... cuz eating these g-hoppers will surely hit your sweet spot.

~~~~~~~

it came upon a midnight clear...

when lindsey (santa's mamacita) took on the 52 new foods no-bake holiday cookie challenge, she immediately knew what delicious dessert concept she wanted to tweak.

she loved two types of ice cream: mint chocolate chip and pistachio.

her favorite birthday + college dessert = grasshopper pie (the house dessert at her northwestern KKG fraternity house).

mamacita's first idea was an ice cream xmas tree cookie. she envisioned rolling out the cacao dough, stamping out xmas trees, topping them with the holiday green ice cream and garnishing them with crushed dye-free candy cane... pretty and festive yummies. however, the xmas trees and icing seemed a bit tedious and not so easy peasy.

like a bolt of lighting, a glorious idea came to life: "what about mini grasshopper pies!?" alas, lindsey couldn't find dye-free candy cane, so, with santa's nice 52 new foods list in her head, she thought, "but of course!  i'll yank some gorgeous pomegranate seeds out from their fridgy-bed!" 

away to the kitchen, mamacita flew like a flash, donned her red apron and gathered her reindeer & stash. she sprang to her food processor, to her team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

merry christmas to all (you filthy animals) and to all a good night!

to the mullies with holiday g-hoppers 

inspired by 52 new foods: avocados, pomegranates & raw cacao

raw cacao crust:

2 c raw almonds (soaked overnight, rinsed and drained)

2 c raw cashews (soaked overnight, rinsed and drained)

(click here to find out why i like to soak my nuts)

1.5 c organic raw cacao powder

12 pitted medjool dates (for the 12 days of christmas of course)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c sun dried goji berries (soaked in water for 10 minutes to soften. rinse and drain)

1/2 c almond butter

1 tsp sea salt

raw g-hopper ice cream:

4 organic avocados

2 c organic coconut butter (i found my jar at AWH)

4 tsp pure mint extract

2 tsp vanilla

12 T (3/4 c) pure maple syrup or coconut nectar

large handful of fresh mint leaves (stems discarded)

pinch of sea salt

note #1: the raw cacao crust recipe is enough to fill either 2 full pans of mini g-hoppers or 1 pan of mini's and a pie crust. i made a french silk ice cream pie with it (we haven't taste tested yet, so i'll get back to you on that classic filling!) i have doubled the avocado recipe (the video shows us making a single batch as i.had.no.idea what the final product amount would be!) i figure with the holidays, you need the double batch amount! if not, just cut both of these recipes in half. 

note #2: not a fan of mint? well, i gotcha bunny! omit the mint leaves + extract and process in pistachios. play with your nut amount! i would start with a 1/2-1 cup and taste test from there. no need for salt probably either, as pistachios are salty indeed. also, i would also use a vitamix (or any powerful blender) if you would like it smooth vs chunky.

using a large bowled food processor, process the nuts together until you have a small, uniform mince. add in all ingredients and process until smooth and thick play-dough like consistency.  your kids will have a ball with naming this concoction...

clean the food processor.  add in all of the ice cream ingredients and process until smooth.  

assembly: using a 1 inch ice cream scooper, place balls of pie crust into each cup.  cover your finger with a plastic baggie and press to form a mini pie mould. (super funny stuff to do... i have such potty humor... and let's face it, kids think this is absolutely gross-hilarious!) clean your ice cream scooper (aka pooper scooper) and scoop out your g-hopper ice cream into each cacao cup.  smooth tops with a butter knife or spatula and garnish with crushed pistachios, pomegranates, crushed dye free red/white peppermint candy, mini chocolate chips... so many festive options!!! be creative!!!

FREEZE OVERNIGHT!!!!!!!  

~~~~~~~

i hope this post and the many other #52newfoods simple recipes this holiday season inspire you to get cooking just one day a week with your kids - the lovely & manageable premise of the 52 new foods challenge cookbook. 

the mullies kitchen = my training room and we're adding more weight every week!

note to self: don't fret or give up when those kitchen performance "plateaus" hit... it takes a bit for that new muscle memory to take hold (believe me, i know).

go food revolution + team 52 new foods = december's blog of the month!!!!!

happy happy no-bake holiday partying with your kids!

to the mullies we go...

xoxoL



ps

special props to my dear friend jenn who lovingly came up with "holiday hopper" and i added in the g (is for grasshopper) spot. silly, creative, foodie friends are the best.  love + thank you jenn!!

pps

a lot of peeps have been asking me who puts together these lovely videos.  i do.  just me and my iphone with just shy of 3 GB's of memory:)  here's the challenging part: i unfortunately only have a 16 GM phone (i can't even get the new apple update at this point) and i have to delete all pics and videos off my phone to have space for a new video undertaking.  so i know i can shoot about 1.5 GM's of photos and video before i begin editing through imovie (or else i don't have enough space to save the finished product to my phone and upload!)  aahhhhhhhhh!  needlesstosay, i have developed quite an easy process:  shoot what i'm doing in the moment = exactly how cooking with kids shakes out = thumbs ups + thumbs downs + endless comedy + love + a family cooking legacy + fun.

a pusher love girl soup

i had two lovely debuts last saturday:

#1 my lovely homemade food rev banner - i know, i'm nuts... but i have a lot of fabric scraps and my brother in law kevin made me a super rad stencil, so i just HAD to.  (thanks a bazillion mom for teaching me how to sew such a long time ago!)  abbie's leapard duck tape holds it up quite well. ha!

#2 my delicious dairy free, gluten free cream of mushroom soup - it knocked people's socks off and i was shocked at how excited people were that it was df and gf! i had a good 10-15 people who could not have eaten it the "normal" way as they were either vegan, cutting out diary or living gluten free.  i hope you'll make it sooner than later in your kitchens whatever which way you like it... you could make it and replace that canned cream of mushroom soup from your favorite family recipe (green bean casserole much?  mmmmmm-kay?)  check out this great "toxins vs traditions" article by the food babe.

to the mullies with a cream of mushroom soup

a few T's of extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil

3.5 c sliced cremini mushrooms divided

1 onion sliced thin

2 celery ribs sliced thin + leaves chopped

3 cloves garlic sliced thin

1/2 tsp dried thyme (1 T fresh)

2.5 T gluten free flour

1/2 c light coconut milk (you can add as much as 3/4 c here)

2 c organic rice milk (or almond milk)

2.5 qt (2 cartons) organic vegetable stock

sage infused sea salt (my dear friend terri also shows you how to make more homemade herbal salts here!  she knocks my socks off - i'm making every single one for my pantry!!!)

freshly ground pepper

freshly chopped parsley (optional as my kids would give me a thumbs down on the "grass")

heat oil in a large stock pot and add your 2.5 cups of the mushrooms, sliced onions, celery, garlic and thyme. (reserve 1 cup of sliced mushrooms to sauté on the side with oil + s&p.  you can add as a garnish later. however, if you have eaters who do not like the texture of whole mushrooms, simply skip this step). cook vege low and slow with the lid on until onions are translucent and juices have released (about 10-15 min). add 2 T flour to vege and mix for a few minutes - it should be clumpy and pasty = we are forming a "roux". slowly pour in coconut milk and stir until a smooth paste forms.  next, slowly pour in rice milk ad stir until mixture begins to thicken. pour in stock, mix and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 15 min. using a handheld immersion blender, whiz up until silky (or transfer to blender). season to taste with sage salt and freshly ground pepper. garnish with parsley + some sautéed mushrooms. enjoy a cozy crock or two with your friends and family.

see you again this saturday at dakotah's indoor farmer's market for three lovely thanksgiving inspired tastes:

pomegranate + mango + apple salsa (inspired by 52 new foods cookbook)

a raw thanksgiving stuffing/dressing (inspired by kimberly snyder)

apple + orange + cranberry relish (inspired by jamie oliver)

xoxoL


ps

big huge thanks to ulysses and the other fab MHS national honor society volunteers who helped me cook up a storm and pass out greens from the fremont community garden!  

day 77 - abbie update

Abbie was a rock star at school for a while, a full 2 weeks...then i made the decision to let some sugar and gluten back into the picture when we left for a weekend getaway.  and....ugh, we've had a bit of a set back.  nothing like what we saw from her in the beginning of the year (thank heavens), but she is not holding her attention like she was when her diet was totally "clean".  her reading teacher, classroom teacher and i have been in constant contact which is a MUST if you decide to do a diet change.  it's a bit of a science experiment, that's for sure.  i am really looking forward to the next few weeks of school to see if i can get her back again.  i know i can, and i am very interested in how many days it takes to go "clean".  

starting monday, here's the plan:  the only gluten will be from spelt flour and i'm going to cut way back on school morning sugar and high salicylate fruits:  no oj or maple syrup to start the day.  i am going to give this two weeks.  if she is still not back to where we got her, bye bye gluten.

thanksgiving was great, talk about impossible to monitor food intake...so i just let it slide.  just a bit.  it's so hard!!  you feel so guilty not letting her have the chocolate, the pretzels, the sugar, the gluten...abbie was so good, she'd ask and i'd cave...ok, just one:)  and everyone is listening to you, many not aware of what's going on and i am so conscious of the crazy food mom label.  isn't that lame!?  i'm typing this so embarrassed...here i am trying to lead the charge and i had a weak moment...a few of them.  well, we're back on track.  as a blogger, this is one of those "things i'm afraid to tell you".  not gonna hide anything here if i'm really going to help anyone, including myself... this is real life, i'm not gonna blow smoke up the hoo-ha and pretend i'm some perfect genius mom at this:)  i'm sure it won't be the last time i flake, get weak in the knees and whine, "why can't we just be NORMAL!!!!???"  what i have to hope for is that when we do have these slip ups, abbie will start to recognize how the food effects her the days after...case in point, yesterday.

we put up our tree and xmas exploded in our house.  so of course, there was a ton of excitement.  boxes, ornaments, lights, talking stuffed animals aaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!   at first, chris and i figured it was normal, the kids were so happy to be helping and hellooowwwww...it's a lot of stimuli.  well, abbie was like a caged animal.  bouncing up and down, over the couch, off the couch, running around...non stop.  mac was a little OC too.  i kept looking at chris giving him the googly eyes and his first five responses were, "oh please, give them a break, they're excited to put the tree up, it's not the food!".  well this amped up, saturday night live hypoglycemic crazy train activity (remember that mike myers bit? hahahaha...)  it kept up for over 5 hours...so he eventually agreed, "yup, the kids are a bit crazy".  

i talked to abbie about how she was feeling yesterday a few times.  we talked about the kinds of food we ate, how she was feeling...i asked her if she was at school, what would her teacher say?  she actually said, "i would have lost 5 barbies" (we have a barbie point system set up for behavior monitoring) i think she really got it, which was very surprising.  she's only 6 and it's certainly possible i was leading the witness...but you know what, if i don't point out the food link, how will she do it on her own at this age?  

abbie just sat down next to me and i asked, "how do you feel today versus yesterday?"  

her quick response: "i was a little wound up yesterday".  

ho ho ho ho

i have received a few questions on what exactly we have done with abbie's diet.  

here is quick outline and a great link to check out:

1. no processed food or junk food:  we have cut out all artificial additives, preservatives, artificial colors and artificial flavors.  i didn't realize "natural flavor" = artificial flavor in 99% of the cases...since i don't know what that means, we just don't give the stuff to her.

2. no dairy: we do almond milk, organic rice milk & coconut milk (watch for carrageen in all of them) plus probiotics to keep the gut bacteria healthy.

3. no soft drinks or fruit juices.  the fruit juice thing is new for us...going to cut out oj in the morning before school days.

4. drastically reduce refined sugar consumption: i try to use only organic sugar, honey, stevia, agave or maple sugar when needed.  this also will go down to as little as possible on school mornings.

5. stick with organic, nitrate free meats and poultry.  avoid processed meats and poultry. 

6. snacks are as healthy as I can get...low in sugar, high in nutrition!  kind bars are one of my favorites along with fruits, veggies with a healthy dip, popcorn....

7.  gluten free - I really really really was hoping we would not need to do this, but I'm giving it another go to see if this is a factor with Abbie.

8.  vitamins:  animal parade gold multi-vitamin & mineral supplement.

9.  always bring food, wherever you go.  i know i will insult people, especially family.  i hate that.  this is still smoke and mirrors to a few and i feel so horrible about hurting feelings of wonderful, loving, good-intentioned individuals... but this is not about them.  their food is perfectly ok, just not for abbie.  and i just can't worry about whether her change in school behavior & attention is believed or not.  

the link below outlines the above list in even more detail.  

The Best ADHD Child Diet

the fam's favorite dinner yet

well, there is one thing you can expect from the mullies...pictures of food in reality time.  

no staged, pretty martha stewart action here.  can you tell i snap and go?

i was looking at that above picture pondering, jeesh, does that even look appetizing??  

hahahahahahahaha

i guess you'll just have to trust me and hopefully i'll get better at this:)

tonight's dinner inspo:

beef and broccoli casserole

sometimes i follow a recipe.

sometimes i google ingredients to get inspiration and then turn it into something else.  

i got lucky tonight with the latter and everybody l.o.v.e.d it.  

tommy likes it.  no feeding, no cajoling...he's like french or something. 

the mullies italian ground beef and quinoa

1 lb grass fed organic ground beef

1 large organic onion chopped

(cook together and drain fat)

1 T worcestershire sauce (i found a bottle with no artificial ingredients at williams sonoma)

1 t dried basil

1 t dried oregano

1 t dried parsley

1 c coconut milk

1 c organic beef stock

1 cube vegan bouillon

1 c leftover cooked quinoa (if you add uncooked quinoa...  cook at least 20 minutes or until tender)

(add above ingredients to meat and onions.  bring to boil and simmer until ready to serve).

sides:

christina's broccoli

sliced organic pears

gluten free garlic bread - i saved the frozen "butts" of the udi's sandwich bread, spread earth's best natural buttery spread & garlic salt over one side and baked them with the broccoli for about 5 minutes.

it's the first 100% happy family eating dinner since we started 52 days ago...

everybody noticed, it was a celebration...i want more of these!!