Low Sodium

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don't miss dairy

Emily Stokes
I'm a lady who loves cheese, sour cream, & ice cream, but I recently became lactose intolerant. My key focus in recreating dairy recipes is taste, but I try to be as health conscious as possible. Some of my recipes are low lactose rather than dairy free. I'm also a writer, teacher, nanny, dog mom, housewife, native Yinzer, current Californian, and social organizer extraordinaire.

Low Sodium

Sweetheart Crackers

Desserts, Snacks & Dips, , , ,

I made these cute little crackers for my husband for Valentine’s Day, since he doesn’t like me to get him sweets. We took them to a dinner party were they were a big hit among our friends. We didn’t bring a single one home. This is the second year I’ve made them, first trying them out with the kids I watch. It’s such a fun and easy kid craft. They love rolling the dough and cutting out shapes, then, of course, eating them.

I first got this idea from Pillsbury, although I came up with my own seasoning and used a cultured pie crust from Whole Foods with no hydrogenated oils. Also, the idea on the Pillsbury website doesn’t give very detailed instructions, so I have my own. You will need your own cookie cutters. I used a heart shaped cookie cutter for Valentine’s Day but any will do. It’s the only cookie cutter I have besides a ginger bread man! I am not much of a baker.

I made half cinnamon sugar and half herb seasoned crackers. Both are equally delicious. Favorites depend on who’s eating. It’s a perfect treat for the kids and the Valentine who doesn’t eat sweets!

Ingredients:

2 refrigerated pie crusts, set out for 15 minutes
Vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Mrs. Dash’s Garlic and Herb Seasoning
Sea Salt
Flour for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine sugar and cinnamon mixture in a small dish.

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, make sure you spray on the cooking oil. Unroll pie crust onto a cutting board and roll over with a rolling pin to flatten and thin.

3. Cut as many shapes as you can into the rolled out crust, then lift the excess pie dough and set aside. Carefully lift the pie dough shapes and lie them on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet in three rows of four, or however many you can fit. Repeat with the second pie crust then set excess dough aside. If you run out of space on the cookie sheets, just cut a large square of parchment paper and place the dough shapes on the paper to wait for an available pan.

4. Combine and roll out the excess dough (dusting with flour if it becomes sticky) onto the cutting board and cut more shapes. Repeat until the amount of dough is too small to make a shape.

5. Brush pie dough shapes very lightly with vegetable oil. Sprinkle one tray of shapes with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Sprinkle the other tray of shapes with the garlic and herb mixture followed by a little sea salt.

6. Bake for six minutes, until crackers are lightly browned. Don’t leave them in for too long! They will burn very quickly. Let them cool for a few minutes, then set the crackers on a platter to enjoy. You can also arrange them in some cellophane and ribbons for a little gift.

        

Carrot Soup

Soups & Crock Pot, Veggies & Sides, , , , , , ,

Getting over the flu? Trying to boost your immune system? Do you have a fridge full of leftover carrots? Or are you just looking for a warm and soothing meal for those cold winter nights? If you answered yes to one or all of the above questions (like I did), then try some of my rich, milk-less carrot soup. It’s sweet, spicy, healthy, and very addicting.

I make it with chicken broth, but use vegetable broth to make a yummy vegan soup. This recipe calls for garlic olive oil, though a teaspoon of minced garlic thrown in at the end will work just as well. Make sure to add one or two teaspoons more butter or oil to the saucepan. I recommend using a food processor for this recipe to get the smoothest consistency.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons garlic olive oil
2 tablespoons Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon red pepper
dash ground ginger
dash sea salt
dash black pepper
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups raw carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Directions:
1. In a 6 quart saucepan, heat Smart Balance over medium low until melted. Add garlic olive oil and stir to combine. Add onions, carrots, curry powder, red pepper, ginger, salt and pepper and stir to coat, cooking until the onions are tender, about five minutes.

2. Add chicken stock, stirring to blend. Bring soup to a boil, stirring occasionally.

3. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Carrots need to be soft enough to puree. Remove from heat and prepare food processor.

4. In a food processor, ladle a small amount of soup from the saucepan at a time. Puree each batch for at least 20 seconds. Use a spatula to scrape out the pureed carrot soup into a fresh saucepan. It will have a smooth, creamy consistency and a bright orange color.

5. Heat the pureed carrot soup over medium heat until hot, then it is ready to serve. To make a thinner consistency, more chicken broth can be added after the pureeing process.

Homemade Cabernet Tomato Basil Sauce

Entrées, More, , , , ,

Making your own tomato sauce can be super easy!

There are many complicated and time consuming ways to make tomato sauce. I researched a thousand recipes that all called for skinning the tomatoes and boiling down the sauce to make a thick, rich tomato sauce.

For one thing, I didn’t want to toss out all the skins–it seemed so wasteful. I’ve been refining my gardening skills which is why I need to make tomato sauce. I spent months caring for my plants to get those beautiful tomatoes! Maybe I could toss the skins of store bought tomatoes but not my homegrown roma’s. Besides, the skins have the highest concentration of antioxidants.* I’d rather not throw out the health benefits.

Aren’t they so pretty?

I also don’t have the right tools for pureeing and straining, and I didn’t want to stand at the stove boiling the sauce forever. I mean, come on, I have laundry to do!

So I took my own fresh approach. I got out the slow cooker to make it easier. I generally like my tomato sauce herby and with a touch of sweetness. A sweet and salty tomato basil sounded perfect for my roma’s, and since I’ve been growing oregano as well, I decided to add that to the batch. Finally, I added a taste of cabernet to give it a unique flavor. My husband said it was award winning! It’s definitely the type of sauce I would expect of a great restaurant.

Honestly, homemade tomato sauce is simple and it’s hard to go wrong. It’s much healthier than store bought sauce and tastes better. By eliminating some of the steps it becomes a quick process yet maintains great quality. You know what you put into it and know what you get out of it.

Ingredients:

2 cups roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped (makes 2 servings)
1/3 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons cabernet sauvignon
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
10-12 fresh oregano leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. Turn your slow cooker on high. While it’s warming up, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Toss onions into the saucepan and sprinkle with a pinch of the sea salt and pepper. Cook for three minutes or until tender, then add minced garlic. Cook for no more than thirty seconds.

Should look like this.

Are those tomatoes chopped? I like that my “waste” pile is very small.

2. Add tomatoes and wine to the saucepan and stir to combine with oil, onion, garlic mixture. Let cook for a minute, then add sugar, the rest of the sea salt and pepper, oregano, and basil. Stir to combine. Cook for five minutes, uncovered.

Two cups.
Salt and peppered.

4. Transfer to hot slow cooker and let cook on high for one hour. I let my Crock Pot heat up for 15 minutes before transferring the sauce. A doubled recipe may need another half hour to an hour to cook. You can also simmer over medium low heat on the stovetop for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over pasta–I used tri-color farfalle and added some ground turkey cooked with a little salt and pepper.

Cooking in the Crock Pot.

This recipe makes about 2-3 servings, enough for one meal for a couple. Easily double if you need to make more or want to freeze some for later. I have about enough patience to chop two cups of tomatoes at a time :-).

Finished product.

Fun Facts:

*Did you know that the olive oil in the sauce helps your body to absorb the carotenoids found in tomatoes?

*Also, in the case of tomatoes, cooking for prolonged time at high temperatures makes carotenoids more available. I got my info from www.whfoods.com.