Nutty Food Critic

Garden Strawberries So, I like strawberries, and it is the season for all of us back yard growers to start picking! I downsized my plot of plants, but I still have some to pick periodically as they ripen.  The local farms should be ready for the "you pick deals" from June - mid July now! There are quite a few growers in the PNW to choose from. A local favorite is the  Biringer Farm , you can check out their website for more information.  After, of course, the morning coffee, I will make my breakfast shake. It consists of one cup of unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened coconut milk, or unsweetened oat milk. Normally when watching calories, I will opt for almond or coconut milk. I also like at times to mix all three to make one full cup!  I will add one scoop of whey, my morning vitamin, and one cup of frozen strawberries. Sometimes I will add a frozen banana or frozen blueberries. My favorite is just using strawberries. I blend this for about a minute to make sure everything i

Ready to eat! Experimenting with different flours for my 💓-y Pancake mixture. Today, it was the best I have ever made. I didn't take a picture, but it was picture perfect! I will use my written recipe for tomorrow's pancake and see how close I was to throwing things in! Will update this blog! Ingredients:  2 tbsp. dry oats made into oat flour with my blender  1 tsp. hazelnut flour 1 tsp. coconut flour 1 tsp. almond flour 1 tsp. buckwheat flour  1 tsp. brown rice flour  1/8 tsp. baking powder dash or pinch of salt  1/8 tsp. oil (grapeseed, flaxseed, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil) 1/2 tsp. or 1 tsp. raw honey (however sweet you would like it) 1/4 tsp. chia seeds 1 tsp. flaxseed meal 4 tbsp. egg whites  2 tbsp. buttermilk (or alternative almond or coconut milk) 1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract (I like vanilla in my pancakes) Topped with 1 cup of blueberries and strawberries microwaved for 1 minute 45 seconds. It is optional to add a touch of whipped cream, maple syrup or

Braided Honey Wheat Bread I don't know what I would do without my Kitchen Aid mixer when it comes to making bread! I started out watching people on YouTube making bread and it was so fast and easy with the mixer. The first recipes I started making were French bread. I also tried sourdough but didn't use the mixer because, well, "they" the experts said not to. You really can over knead the sourdough! The best bread recipe I found was on the back package of Bobs Red Mill's wheat flour! Simple ingredients and so easy in the kitchen aid.  Ingredients: 1 cup warm Water 2 1/4 tsp. Active Dry Yeast (one 7 g packet) 1 cup Milk room temperature 1/4 c. Honey (raw honey) 2 Tbsp. Oil (I use extra virgin olive oil) 2 3/4 c. Unbleached all-purpose flour 2 3/4 c. W hole wheat flour 1 Tbsp. Salt  Start out by warming a cup of water in your microwave (or stove) to just the right temperature. You might ask, "what is the right temperature?" My rule of thumb is to get it th

💓-y  Banana Nut Bread 💓-y Banana Nut Bread is now my favorite to make! Healthier version than I usually bake. I substituted the white sugar with honey, egg whites for the whole egg, and plain Greek yogurt for the butter. The bread is moist, and the texture is firm. I don't even miss the butter because of the yogurt! 3 ripe bananas smashed 1/2 c. plain non-fat Greek yogurt  1/4 c. of raw honey (however sweet you would like it) 1 tsp. of baking soda  dash or a pinch of salt  1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 Tbsps. egg whites to equal one egg 1 c. whole wheat flour  1 c. ground pecans or walnuts  1/4 c. of white flour (more if needed) Oil to coat the pan - I prefer extra virgin olive oil Pull out that loaf pan no bigger than 4x8 and coat it with a small amount of olive oil. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Smash those bananas in a bowl and add 1/2 c. of plain non-fat, or low-fat Greek yogurt while mixing it all. Mix well with the honey, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and egg whites. Add 1 cup

  Perfection Ingredients:  Crust:  1 cup graham crackers crushed  1 cup of pecans crushed  5 tablespoons of sugar, or monk fruit, or Stevie, or a combination of each 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon  6 tablespoons of butter melted Mix all the ingredients together and pat down in the bottom and sides of a cheesecake pan or 9" baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 8 minutes and then take out to cool.  Filling ingredients:  24 ounces of cream cheese  1 cup of sugar or sugar substitute for baking  1 tablespoon vanilla extract  1 tablespoon of lemon or lemon zest (grated lemon rind) 5 eggs 1/4 cup of heavy cream  2 tablespoons of sugar or monk fruit, or Stevie or a combination of each First mix the following with your hand blender or mixer:  24 ounces of cream cheese  1 cup of sugar or monk fruit or Stevie or a combination of each Add-in:  1 tablespoon of vanilla extract  1 tablespoon of lemon juice or grated peel then take 5 eggs and separate the yolks and whites  Mix the 5 egg yolks into

I like cooking, but I can't wait to be able to go out, sit at a table in a restaurant, order, eat, and enjoy family and friends. The only thing I won't like is the bill, but it will be so worth it. During this quarantine, if you have the funds and can help out your favorite local eateries, do so. They are struggling and take-out orders can help keep them in business.