Recipe for Sweet Potatoe Fries

This is a very healthy alternative to regular fries or even store bought sweet potato fries (there are no preservatives in these or trans fat). Olive oil is one of the healthiest oils to consume. Research has shown that olive oil helps lower bad cholesterol levels and raises good cholesterol levels, it helps prevent heart disease and cancer. Sweet potatoes are loaded with Vitamin A ( because Vitamin A is fat soluble most of is retained when cooking).  Sweet potatoes are also loaded with other vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C (most of it is lost when cooking because it’s a water soluble vitamin), Calcium, Iron, Phosphorus, Vitamin B, Potassium, etc.

Ingredients:

• Sweet Potatoes cut into fries ( use a really sharp knife because they are very hard to cut through)
• Olive oil
• Season to taste with whatever seasoning you would like ( my favorite is salt free chili seasoning but thyme, basil, Real Salt, or whatever taste fine as well)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place fries into boiling water for about 2-3 minutes ( this will help them get a little crisper. Don’t let them get soft). Remove fries from water. Lightly coat fries with olive oil and seasoning of choice. Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes turning a couple of times. Keep an eye on them because ovens vary.

~Ann Moon

How to make Focaccia

How to Make Focaccia

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Focaccia is a simple bread to make at home. It will take some time (about 3 hours), but much of the time it takes is waiting for it to rise, so you can do something else in between. There is nothing like freshly baked bread, and focaccia is some of the easiest bread you can bake from scratch.
This recipe is easy to extend. You can double it for a crowd. You can also add any other flavorings you want, including different herbs, different cheeses, garlic, and dried tomatoes or tomato paste. The basic procedures are about the same, no matter what flavorings you add.

Ingredients

• 1 packet active, dry yeast or 2 1/4 tablespoons of bulk yeast or equivalent Read more

Hot Carob-coa Recipe

Hot cocoa is a winter comfort food—it tastes soo good that it creates a mini-celebration whenever it’s  served. Unfortunately commercial mixes are full of sugar and other junk. To make matters worse, many
children are dairy sensitive or reactive to the theobromine* (caffeine-like), excito-toxins or kidney irritating oxalic acid in chocolate. While chocolate is high in fats and anti-oxidants, carob** has no fat and is high in niacin, calcium and fiber. It’s also high in natural sugar so requires much less additional sweetener than chocolate which is naturally bitter. Some manufacturers of carob bars add cocoa butter to give it more of a chocolate flavor, without the migraine triggering effects.

Homemade Hot Carob-coa Mix Read more

A Zippy Figgy version of an old favorite

This has become my favorite version of cranberry sauce. Its flavor is
reminiscent of minced meat, though it takes a fraction of the effort to make
and it’s raw. The perky tartness of the cranberries and the sophisticated
nuance of orange peel brighten up the figs and create a memorable
gustatory experience. Use as a sauce for meat, or eat it out of the jar like
applesauce. It’s divine as a dessert with nuts, too! Read more

Sunflower Chiffon Pie with Raspberry Sauce

Sunflowers follow the sun when they are in the bud stage. Once the flower opens into the radiance of yellow petals it remains facing east. We can capture the energy of the sun in the colder months by eating sunflower seeds.

This chart is from the World’s Healthiest foods website, of the George Mateljan Foundation, an indispensable resource on food nutrients: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=57

Sunflower Chiffon Pie with Raspberry Sauce:
Makes 2 thick pies Read more

Vegan Holiday Nog

Lots of families have dairy and other allergies, or vegan preferences, or are just looking for healthier alternatives to traditional favorites.  Egg Nog was a favorite of mine as a kid, but I know now that I have an allergy to milk and that traditional nog is artery clogging.  This egg- and dairy-free nog is rich and creamy without cholesterol and saturated fats; and it’s so high in nutrients,* like  vitamin K, minerals and protein, that I often use it as a between meal snack.  Oh, and it’s delicious too!  What a neat way to celebrate the holidays together!  Read more

Squash Soup Recipe

Squash is renowned for its sweet taste but apart from that, it’s also one of the excellent sources of vitamin A and the antioxidant beta-carotene. In order to hasten the absorption of Vitamin A and make it usable for the body, though, there has to be fat since this vitamin is fat-soluble.

That premise substantiates the idea behind this squash soup recipe that combines tasty squash and cream cheese. If you use plenty of cream cheese, more than what is recommended in this squash soup recipe, you’ll overpower the taste of the yellow vegetable. Read more

Fitting pasta into your diet (recipe included)

For many people who have been watching their weight, one of the first foods to be banished from their diets is pasta. Pasta is a low fat food, one serving (about 2 oz.) provides only 1 gram of fat. However, most people eat 3-4 times that amount at one sitting, which really elevates the calories and carbohydrate content. Not only that, but regular “white” pasta does not contain fiber or whole grains.

Fear not, several new varieties of pasta have been hitting the supermarket shelves in recent years. Dreamfields makes pasta that contains a unique fiber and protein blend to help reduce the amount of Read more

Dr. Rob’s Penne Rigate Pasta with Vegetables and Side Salad

A nice easy dish for any occasion and great for left overs the next day. I added some grilled flank steak and scallops on the leftover day and reheated then garnished with fresh parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Used the same spring salad mix with balsamic vinaigrette, crumbly blue cheese and toasted pine nuts.

Love to all and enjoy
Dr. Rob Read more

Raw pear conserve

Pears are ripe and best for eating when they have a light green to yellow background with green dots. The arrows point to the more yellow looking ones which were used for the conserve recipe below. Read more