Yom Kippur Wrap Up

I cannot believe the weather!!! Usually the day of Yom Kippur I am counting down the hours until I can break the fast and dig into the chicken soup and honey cake that I made the day before. Well, this year there was no way I was turning on the oven or using the stove for that matter. My easy no cook break fast dinner went as fallows.

We had Udi's multi grain bagels. I really don't ever eat grains anymore, but I figure heck, why not it is a Holiday and once in a while cannot hurt.                                                     I paired the bagels with the usual suspects:

-sliced Heirloom Tomatoes sprinkled with garlic black pepper
-fresh yummy cream cheese sprinkled with dill
-beautiful Wild Smoked Sockeye Salmon
-sliced red onions
-would have added capers, but Ben hates anything briney or pickled.

I paired the bagels and lox with a simple butter lettuce, radish and yellow summer squash salad that was tossed with my go to dressing:

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1/4 cup or so of white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp of Herbs De Provence
2 tbsp of EVOO
1 pinch of Kosher Salt

Shake it up in a glass jar and toss into salad.

We had chocolate dipped Macaroons via Wholefoods.

If we where having people over I would have chilled a nice Rose' wine but I already had opened Driven's Tempranillo and had that instead.

Also if we had company I would have probably served some strawberries(yes because of the weird season are still great and coming in the by the truck loads around here) and Heirloom Melon slices, some different olives and a crudite platter with lemon Hummus. It was just Ben and I this year which was fine too hot for company anyway.

I hope everyone had a easy fast and a meaningful Yom Kippur.

Sweet mornings in disquise with super foods....

Sorry the photo is not that great I took it with my old camera that died a few months ago. Thank goodness Ben had a spare for me to use.

My morning almond milk, double shot, home made latte would not be complete with out Raw Cacao Powder from Navitas Naturals. I was reading a article on Harvard Health Publications about the heart healthy benefits of Cacao Powder and anti inflammatory properties. It is for sure a SUPER FOOD in every since of the word reading more into the article. Doing more research I found that two and half tablespoons gives you 2% calcium, 8% Iron, 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein and 67.5mg of magnesium. The kicker is that it has fifteen more times the antioxidants found in a glass of red wine and twenty-one times that of a cup of green tea, even blueberries cannot compete with this stuff!!!!

The Cacao Powder is rich in flavonoids that can help with so many things from pre-mature ageing, fighting environmental damage happening in out bodies, anti-inflammatory properties and help with heart health in lowering blood pressure. Even help with your mood and boost endorphin levels.

The cacao powder also makes a excellent hot chocolate as well. I just add a little more sweetness to the almond milk and leave out the espresso shots. If you do not have a milk frothier just add two cups of some kind of milk and two tablespoons of the cacao powder and heat over medium heat while whisking until heated, combined and frothy. I like to add a few pinches of cinnamon and nutmeg and maybe a little vanilla extract or peppermint extract. YUM!!!

Homemade Granola

Ok I am getting ready to put out another Cookbook review and as usual I cook my way through the book as much as possible. So this is my own recipe, but one of the recipes I saw in the book inspired me to make my own granola. Plus, when I was at Wholefoods, with Ben, the other night I could not find a decent gluten free granola that was not full of sugar! So I read the backs of the non-gluten free high end granola brands to see what makes them so "high-end" and gathered what I needed to make my own concoction.

Set the oven at 375 degrees

What you need:
2 to 3 cups of rolled whole oats
1/4 of cup agave nectar
2 tbsp of grape seed oil
1/4 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup of sliced almonds or whatever you have around
1/4 cup of sun flower seeds
1/2 cup of dried cranberries/raisins/blueberries, cherries or what ever you have around
2 tsp of chai seeds
1/2 cup of goji berries chopped in a food processor or chop by with a chefs knife works to
1/4 cup chopped un-crystallized Candied Ginger
a few pinches of cinnamon
zest of half a organic orange
pinch of sea or kosher salt

Toss all together and grab a rimmed cookie sheet and line with parchment paper. Spread mixture out let it be clumpy and place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes depending if you use two of three cups of oats. Once it is done let sit on the counter and cool for about 20 to 30 minutes. Grab a airtight container and pick up the parchment, longest edges, paper by the slides and pour in to the container. Should last 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature.

This is great on yogurt, ice cream, on morning oat meal. Ben likes to top his Trader Joe Oats with it.  I will poured a small bowl and added some almond milk for a quick sweet afternoon snack. I like to make my morning shake and sprinkle granola on top and eat the shake with a spoon, yum!!!!