~ The Crystal Dish ~

Sometimes I crave super healthy things like bran muffins. Jack tells me I eat like old people because I like things like bran muffins, cottage cheese, tapioca, and prunes. Since the kids love sweet treats, I decided to make healthy bran muffins for them. Nicholas ate two straight out of the oven. This kid loves these muffins. I actually indulged in one myself and they were DELICIOUS!!!!! Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup tapioca flour 3/4 cup flaxseed meal 3/4 cup oat bran 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 cup carrots, grated 1 large apple, grated 1/2 cup raisins  3/4 cup almond milk 2 eggs, beaten 1 tsp. vanilla Instructions: In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Stir in carrots, apples and raisins. Combine milk, beaten eggs and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees f...

I'll go ahead and admit that I am a bit of a pancake snob. I wouldn't dream of feeding my kids something I wouldn't eat. After searching several recipes, a little trial and error with consistencies, I finally got it right!!!! And to make it even better, the kids love love love these!!! Nicholas actually thinks these taste like cake... It's like the Kix motto, these are kid tested, mother approved!!! Ingredients: 1 1/3 cups brown rice flour 2/3 cup tapioca starch 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 3/4 cups unsweetened almond milk 2 eggs 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted 1 tsp vanilla Directions: Mix the almond milk and eggs and set aside. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the milk and egg mixture and whisk to combine. Add the melted butter and whisk once more.  In a medium sized skillet over medium-low heat, pour 1/4 cup batter and cook for 1-2 minutes until golden on one side. Flip pancake and cook until lightly b...

  When I saw this recipe in my Biggest Loser cookbook, I knew I had to make it. I actually changed it up from the original recipe to make it even more healthy. With watching what we eat, we rarely eat red meat, but tonight was definitely a red meat night. I'm not regretting cooking and eating this though because it was absolutely AMAZING!!! I want to try making it again, but with ground turkey instead of beef and maybe add a little Worchestershire sauce to the meat. If you want the biggest loser recipe, you just use grape juice instead of water and omit the agave. Ingredients 1 lb 93% Lean Ground Beef 3/4 cup cooked brown rice 6 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 1 tbs. onion powder 4 tsp Black Ground Pepper 2 cups thinly sliced sweet onion rings 1 cup water 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1 tbs. agave nectar Instructions: In a large bowl, mix the beef, rice, and  5 tablespoons of the parsley until well combined. Divide the mixture into 4 equal p...

Last week I made that 20lbs turkey and I had an abundance of leftovers, so instead of letting that meat go to waste, i decided to meal plan lunches and dinners for the next week. This definitely came in handy today with my two sick babies. I made the kids some homemade turkey noodle soup and the melts for Jack and I! Since Jack doesn't like mushrooms or celery, I omitted on his and used a sandwich thin for the melt. Ingredients: 4 Portobello mushrooms, stemmed, gills removed 2 tablespoons olive oil 10 oz. turkey breast, cooked and chopped 1 celery stalk, finely chopped 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Salt and pepper 4 thin slices Swiss cheese 4 slices tomato  Instructions: Preheat the broiler. Using a spoon, remove the gills from the mushrooms by gently scooping them out. Brush the mushrooms with 1 tablespoon oil. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and broil, turning once until softened and cooked through, about 10 mi...

I  love searching new recipe ideas and finding healthier ones to try. This one actually stuck and Jack and the kids even liked it, despite it being gluten free.  I altered this recipe slightly and I'm going to make another batch with a dash of cayenne in it, so you get the chocolate goodness at the beginning and the the spice at the end. The plain chocolate is also amazing, but I like to change it up a bit with recipes. For those of you doing gluten free or wanting to try something gluten free, I highly recommend this one because not only is it super easy, it's delicious as we'll.  Ingredients: - 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate - 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained - 4 eggs - 1/2 cup agave nectar - 1 teaspoon baking powder - powdered sugar to coat Instructions: Melt the  chocolate  in the microwave and let it cool at room temperature.  Preheat the oven at 180C (350F).  Rinse and drain the  chickpeas ...