Why Grape Seed Oil???

I received a comment the other day asking about the difference between Grape Seed Oil and Olive Oil and when I use which and why... so here's a brief breakdown of MY understanding...

I switched over to Grape Seed Oil with my cooking when I first heard about the high Smoke Point it has (421 degrees F) which means that you can use it to cook food up to that temperature without the oil breaking down or deteriorating or really changing flavor. Olive Oil on the other hand has a lower Smoke Point (350 degrees F) which means that when you cook with it, be it sauteing, frying, or baking it will begin to break down, change flavors, and possibly even let off a toxicity which you can often smell when cooking with it at high temperatures. So almost always, I use Grape Seed Oil when cooking with heat- with the exception of Coconut Oil (I use that when cooking eggs and when making baked goods, it's Smoke Point is 360 for reference) and I leave my Olive Oil for "cold cooking" such as salad dressings and the like.

All 3 oils that I mentioned above have great health benefits as well. For instance, Grape Seed Oil contains antioxidants as well as Vitamin E & C and beta-carotene. It has also been shown to lower LDL cholesterol ("bad cholesterol") and increase HDL ("good cholesterol"). Similar findings have been shown with Olive Oil, as well as it's benefits for the heart and preventions of cancer.

Chicken Fried Rice

This is a great "all-in-one" meal that has a healthy grain (brown rice), some protein (eggs & chicken) and TONS of Veggies!! My favorite recipe I've tried so far for Fried Rice... I think you'll like it too!

Ingredients:

2 cups brown rice

4 cups water

2 TBSP Grape Seed oil

3 eggs, beaten

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp ginger

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 red bell pepper, diced

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/3 cup tamari soy sauce

1 TBSP sesame seeds

1-2 chicken breasts, diced

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Directions:

There are s few different steps going on in this dish- Step 1: you need to cook your rice, so get your 4 cups water boiling and then add your brown rice letting it cook per directions on package. Step 2: While that's going, wash and dice your chicken breasts and throw them in a skillet with a drizzle of Grape Seed Oil and give them a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Let them cook up until they are nice and browned. Step 3: in a large skillet or a wok, add your 2 TBSP Grape Seed Oil and your scrambled eggs. Cook them like you would scrambled eggs, then push them to the outside edges of your pan and add your chopped bell pepper, carrots, garlic, and ginger to the middle of the pan and let them cook that for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Last step it so put it all together. So, when your rice is done, add your rice, frozen peas, cooked chicken from your other skillet, your soy sauce, and sesame seeds and keep turning it over until all the ingredients are well mixed. I serve this for dinner. It makes a ton- enough for 4 people to eat as a meal with some left overs! It's a perfect combination or a healthy grain, veggies, and some chicken for protein! Enjoy!!!

Gluten Free: This meal can easily be made Gluten Free by using Tamari Sauce and Brown rice.

Vegan: This is also an easy Vegan Recipe by omitting the chicken and eggs.

Chewy Granola Bars...

After all those holiday goodies are you ready to have a healthy snack on hand?? Here's your ticket: Healthy Homemade Chewy Granola Bars, loved by kids and adults alike. Super simple to make, but heads up- they take about an hour in the oven... gotta cook them slowly to keep them chewy! This is another recipe complements of my super talent sister, Danika... love her! Thanks for sharing your recipe.... and your granola bars when we see you!

Here's a much overdue shout out & thanks for all your recipe sharing! She's great at it all- cooking, mothering, listening, being the "baby whisperer" for my friends & I, being an awesome auntie and great Granola Bar-Maker! Love you!!

Ingredients:

1 cup almond butter

3/4 cup honey

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups oats

1/2 cup raisins or cranraisins (I use half of each)

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/3 cup ground flax seed (or you can use wheat germ)

2 TBSP sesame seeds

a sprinkling of cinnamon

Directions:

Super simple. Preheat your oven to 225 then in a large mixing bowl, add your almond butter, honey and vanilla and mix until well blended. Then add your dry ingredients, mix well until it's evenly blended, sprinkle in some cinnamon and give it one more stir. Then in a greased cake pan, dump out the ingredients evenly and pat down with a spatula. Then bake for about an hour- should be golden brown on top (could take about an hour and 15- check them after an hour though). Take them out, let them cool and then cut them into granola bar sizes to your liking. Store in an air tight container to keep them fresh- Enjoy!!!

Sister's Homemade Pancakes...

So if you read my blog a lot, you know that a lot of my yummy recipes get handed to me by my family. Fortunately for me, my Mom (we call her Debs) is an AWESOME cook and aways has been. She, instilled an interested in my older sister (Danika) and I. We happened to have a younger brother, who married a sweet young chickie (Lisa) that likes to cook as well, and I married into a family with an adveturous sister-in-law (Gelayol) who's always trying new recipes and sharing them. So from time to time, when you read my blog you will hear me say that I got my recipes from one of them... including this one! So here's a shout out to them... and a BIG thanks to their love for cooking and sharing!

Here's my sister's Homemade Pancake recipe... once you try it you won't ever want to use one of those boxes of pre-made stuff that you just add water to- these are just too good... and much better for you! Plus, chances are you will already have all the ingredients to make them right there in your pantry. AND if you have an allergy, you can try switching the flour to the one that you use! See???? I told you they were GREAT!

Ingredients:

1& 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 & 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 TBSP sugar

1& 1/4 cup milk

1 egg

3 TBSP butter, melted

*** chocolate chips- optional

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, sift your flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. Make a well in the center and add your milk, egg, and melted butter and mix until smooth. Heat a griddle on med. high heat, grease with butter or spray and pour batter onto griddle. If you want to sweeten them up with chocolate chips, simply sprinkle a few on before flipping the pancake to the second side. Serve with syrup, peanut butter, powdered sugar, fruit spread, or any of your other favorite toppings and enjoy!

NOTE: Flour amounts might differ if you change the flour to another type (i.e. a gluten free flour). I haven't experimented with different flours yet, so if you do, let us know!

Butternut Squash Soup

Here's another wonderful winter soup, not a ton of ingredients, but ones that are in season and should be taken advantage of then they are here! A great combination of Acorn Squash with Butternut Squash and a hint of sweetness from the Orange Sweet Potatoes- a perfect combination!

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced

2 TBSP grape seed oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

3 medium sweet potatoes, cubed

1 small-med. butternut squash

1 large acorn squash

4 cups of chicken broth

1/8 tsp curry powder

4 TBSP sour cream

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This is what it looks like after simmering, before you puree it...

Directions:

Bake your squash on a roasting pan or cookie sheet on 375 for about 45 minutes- 1 hour (you can leave them whole, you just need to slice them in half and scoop out the seeds when they are done cooking and throw them away). Pierce them with a fork, when they are tender, remove them and let them cool until you can touch them. In a large soup pot, add your garlic, onion, and oil and saute for a few minutes. Add your sweet potatoes, carrots, curry and chicken broth and bring them to a boil. Let them cook for about 10 minutes, then add the flesh from your squash. Cover it and let it simmer for another 3o minutes. Puree your soup with a hand wand or a blender. Add s & p to taste and a dollop of sour cream to each bowl before you serve it.

Molasses Crinkles...

OKAY- there are a million things left to do, but I couldn't help posting this new recipe that I tried today for Molasses Crinkles. I was searching for one that didn't have any shortening in it, and I stumbled upon these. I made a few changes and thought they turned out pretty darn delicious. I was later affirmed in that "darn delicious thought" when my husband came home and ate 5 of them.... did I mention he doesn't like sweets???? SLOW DOWN Buddy- those are Santa's cookies!!!

Here's the recipe, they have a wonderful combination of spices, they are dark golden in color and they are topped with sparkly sugar and cute little crinkles... you will love them too!

Ingredients

2 TBSP butter, melted

2 TBSP coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

1/3 cup dark molasses

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 TBSP cinnamon

1.5 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/4 tsp. salt

white sugar to top the cookies with

(please excuse the random placement all over the cookie sheet- my 2 year was helping make these for Santa!!)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl add your melted butter and coconut oil, your molasses, brown sugar, egg and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl combine your flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt and sift until it's evenly blended. Then mix your dry ingredients into your wet. Mix well. Spoon out your dough and roll into 1 inch balls, then dip the tops of them into your white sugar. (I pour a little white sugar onto a salad plate and use that for dipping). Then place on your ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove and let them cool on a wire rack. They come out crinkled and chewy- yum!

Ideas for Christmas Morning...

I usually like to have something pre-made for breakfast on Christmas morning, something I can heat in the oven or something simple that doesn't take a lot of time so I can focus on my family and not cooking. I usually make one of the following dishes:

• My Grandma's Spanish Potato Omelet- I make this the night before and then just warm it up in the oven the morning of. It's super filling and easy to serve in "pie pieces" or cut into cubes to snack on.
• This yummy Breakfast Strata- you make this the night before, again, really simple, it takes about 10 minutes to put it together, then you refrigerate it over night and heat it in the oven the next morning.
• And if you have guests coming over, you might enjoy something simple like these Banana Muffins or Blueberry ones... or you could even slice up some banana bread and have it out if you are having guests or want a treat for your family.
• I am trying a new recipe this year for Pumpkin Nut Muffins with Raisins. I don't usually post a recipe before trying it, but I won't be trying it until Christmas Eve, so if anyone else wants to try something new, give this recipe a go- from the looks of it I think it should be very festive and tasty... we shall see!

Pumpkin Nut Muffins with Raisins:

2 eggs beaten

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 TBSP honey

1 can pumpkin

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/3 cup water

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat your eggs and add your sugar, honey, pumpkin, coconut oil and water. Then in a separate bowl, sift your flours, spices, baking soda & powder and salt. Then pour your dry ingredients into your wet and stir well. Add your nuts and raisins and mix well. Scoop into lined muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes. You can add a sprinkle of cinnamon & sugar mixture to the top if you desire.