~ The Crystal Dish ~

In fall I go through a nesting period! No I'm not pregnant, but I bake like I am during this nesting time.... It hit me a little early so I decided to make a healthier version of a brownie for my kiddos today.  Brooklyn and Nicholas of course wanted to dig into the batter before I had cooked it... These were not too shabby and the kids are in love!!! Ingredients : 1/2 cup coconut flour  1/2 cup raw cacao powder  1/2 cup raw honey  1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)  5 Eggs 2 tablespoons water 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Instructions: 1. Combine all dry ingredients in a dish and mix well. 2. Combine all wet ingredients in separate dish, mix well. 3. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, while stirring. 4. Grease a 8×8 baking pan or place parchment paper on the bottom of the dish. 5. Pour batter into baking pan and smooth out the batter with a knife. 6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

As a treat to my babies this am, I decided to make them some fun muffins for breakfast!  These are not on my nutrition plan, but I was strong and fought the temptation of this sweet treat! The kiddos loved these! Nicholas ate 3 mini muffins!!!  Muffins are easy and a great way to get kids to eat their breakfast because kids think they're getting cake for breakfast!  Ingredients: 1/3 c. butter, melted 1/2 c. sugar 1 egg (preferably room temperature) 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 c. milk Topping 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. butter, melted 1 tsp. cinnamon Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium-large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined, but still a bit lumpy. Do NOT overmix; overmixing will ruin the texture of the finished muffins. Also? Don’t overmix the batter. Finally, don’t overmix. Scoop batter into muffin tins that...

As some of you know, I've been fighting this cold bug all week. Tonight I decided to make my family's 'get better' soup in hopes to make this nasty cold to go away.  Being a stay-at-home mom, I cannot really afford to be sick chasing after two toddlers, so instead of letting this cold take over me, I'm kicking this cold in the butt!  This soup will definitely make you sweat out your cold with the yumminess of roasted garlic and fresh ginger. Oh, and by the way, this is pretty much the easiest soup to cook! Ingredients: 12 oz can chicken broth 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbs. fresh grated ginger 4 oz cooked shredded chicken (I omitted chicken since I'm vegetarian) 1 bunch bean thread noodles 1 tbs. Olive oil Directions: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm oil and sauté garlic until golden brown. Make sure you do not burn the garlic in this step. Once garlic has browned, add chicken broth, chicken, and ginger. Bring to boil. Add bean thread noodles and reduc...

I have always loved stroganoff, but never quite knew how I could make it vegan and get my protein intake as well...  I found this recipe from Forks Over Knives and it was absolutely amazing! I had leftovers for the next three days for my meal prepped meals so I'm one happy camper!  INGREDIENTS : 2 large shallots, peeled and minced 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 2 teaspoons minced thyme Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 teaspoon minced rosemary 1 pound portobello mushrooms, stemmed and cut into large pieces 1 ounce porcini mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup boiling water for 30 minutes ½ cup dry white wine 1 cup  Tofu Sour Cream 1 pkg no yolk egg noodles, cooked according to package instructions Chopped parsley For the tofu sour cream: 1 package extra firm lite silken tofu, drained 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth and creamy.   Chill until ready to serve.   S...