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2017 has arrived!

I hope your holidays were happy and filled with wonderful memories. Here at the Obi house, we were met with a few unexpected events, though, in the end, everyone survived. Of course, it'll take until March to get our family room back in order.

Christmas Day aftermath.

I don't know about you, but now is time when I'm ready to toss all of the leftover holiday treats and get back to eating normally. And dare I say healthier.

Of course, that doesn't mean we can't still indulge. We just do it in a different way. For me, it's without all that sugar. By now, I'm once again addicted to the stuff, so it's time to break that cycle.

Luckily, that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a few treats. Nor do I have to bid pumpkin season farewell just yet.

Yes, it's true. You can have your cake and eat it, too.

Okay, so it's really a muffin, but let's not split hairs. Especially when it satisfies those sweet cravings without knocking us off the low-carb wagon.

Best of all, you can whip this up in no time for a luscious afternoon snack.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 flat tablespoon 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 2 heaping tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons golden flax meal
• 1 tablespoon almond flour (if you don't have almond flour, you can use 3 tablespoons of the flax meal)
• 3/4 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 5-6 teaspoons Truvia, separated (you can use more or less, depending on your tastes. If you use another artificial sweetener, adjust according to your personal taste)
• 1 generous tablespoon pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

First, the frosting.
Put cream cheese, yogurt, lemon juice and 2-3 teaspoons sweetener into a small bowl.

Mix until smooth and set aside. This gives the sweetener a chance to dissolve.

Now grab yourself a nice size mug, crack the egg into it and whisk with a fork.

Then add your flax meal/almond flour, pie seasoning, baking powder, sweetener to taste (I usually use about 3 teaspoons/packets), pumpkin and coconut oil and whisk until everything is incorporated.

Place mug in microwave and cook on high for 60-70 seconds**. You can also bake it in a ramekin or divide batter between two holes of a regular size muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Those methods would probably make for a prettier muffin, but since I'm an instant gratification kind of girl, I usually go for the microwave. Besides, even in the micro, it still comes out with a nice, cakey texture.

**Note: My microwave is 1100 watts, so if yours differs, you'll need to adjust the time accordingly.

Once done baking, dump your muffin(s) onto a plate...

I like to cut mine in half before topping it with the frosting.

And I love that there's an ample amount of frosting, so that no bite is without.

My tummy is happy, my sweet tooth is satisfied and I'm breaking the sugar cycle.

A definite win-win.

Now it's your turn. How were your holidays? Anything exciting happen?

Do you feel the need to break the sugar cycle when January hits?

Healthy Egg Rolls (low carb)

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and this is a repeat post from March 2014. (Seriously, what was I doing in 2014 besides cooking?? All my favorite recipes are from 2014.) 

 But before I get to the egg rolls, I wanted to share these beautiful peonies my friend brought me.

 We have a local peony garden and it has several dozen varieties. So beautiful!

And they smelled amazing.

But we're here for the egg rolls, so, without further ado, the past me will take over:

These are officially low carb, but they're not low calorie. So, you can decide whether it fits into your diet, or whether you can have just one with a salad. (I didn't have to think too hard about this since I'm not fond of cabbage OR Chinese food. No brainer!) But I knew this would be a big hit with the family, and since we've had wayyyyy too many cookies and sweets lately, this seems a fun way to get back on the road to real food.

 What you see is a doubled recipe (alert- family of EIGHT!) but the measurements I'll give arethe ones listed on the back of the package.

1lb pork sausage
2 cups cabbage
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1 cup shredded carrots
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp garlic
2TBS oyster sauce
one package egg roll wraps (made with rice)

 Brown pork sausage. Use thirteen year old child who does not appreciate her picture taken.

 After the pork is browned, add in the carrots, cabbage, garlic, ginger and green onions. Stir over high heat for 2-3 minutes, like a quick stir fry.

 Remove from the heat and add 2 TBS of the oyster sauce. I checked the back and there was no MSG but it still made me nervous. So far, so good. Usually anything with that many preservatives gives me a killer migraine but I saw this on a list for people who are sensitive to MSG and derivatives.

 So, let the mixture cool, then remove the rice paper wraps from the container. Put a small bowl of water near as you assemble the egg rolls.
Preheat oven to 400F.

Put about 2 tsp of mix in the middle. It smells DELICIOUS.

 Wrap it up like a little envelope, sealing the last flap with a bit of water.

 Ta-dah. Now, into the oven for about 12-15 minutes, until browned.

 I order these napkins from Macy's because I fell in love with this line of china. (Wait, you say... why order napkins if you love the china!?) The china was sooo crazy expensive, even on sale, that one mug cost $49! I mean, seriously. In this family, we could break hundreds of dollars in dishes a week that way!

 Anyway, so I got placemats and napkins. And they are SOOOO pretty. I'm going to try and paint a replica of it... but it might be a fail. I'll let you knew what happens.

 Looking tasty! Now, the original recipe called for green cabbage and I'm sort of seeing why. These babies look purple!

 Hubby was pretty excited to see this as his appetizer. (This couldn't be his whole meal. He needs a big salad and maybe some corn or green beans. But I took pictures before I put everything on there...)

 Dipping in the soy sauce... And the other sauce is a spicy and sour... my fave!

 Steaming hot and the veggies are still crisp!

 Now, while I was cooking, the kids were out playing in the garden. And across the fence lives a lovely woman named Sandy. She's a cook for one of the elementary schools and she must think my kids are missing out on the goodness of cafeteria food (the good kind, not the horrible kind) becuase she always sends plates of goodies over! So, dessert appeared in front of me... angel food cake with a chocolate glaze and vanilla pudding middle. YUMMY.

I wasn't really sold on the oven baked part, so I fried the last batch in about an inch of oil, turning until each side was crispy. I really thought they tasted so much better... but of course, it raises the calorie content as well. I think if you only have one or two, the frying doesn't make a difference. For hubby, I think I'll keep his baked because he ate about seven. That would be a lot of grease!

Be sure to drop by my author page at Mary Jane Hathaway, or my other author page at Virginia Carmichael, or my blog at The Things That Last! All my newest book news and musings is there, including anything else that strikes my fancy!

Tutorial: Make Your Own Delicious Walnut Milk!

Hi, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I've got a tasty treat for those of you who are looking for a way to boost their nutrition, cut fat, and lower cholesterol. Or, if you're like us, make something tasty for people who are lactose intolerant!
                                               
First, an odd fact: did you know that while approximately 15% of Caucasians are lactose intolerant, up to 50%-80% of Hispanic/Latinos are? (East Asians have the highest at reported nearly 90%... which made me think of all the Asian food dishes I know and realize almost none of them have dairy. Interesting.)

Hazelnut milk, about $8 a quart.

When our pediatrician first suggested testing our oldest daughter for a milk allergy, I thought that was something he always did with babies who were colicky. But then he told me that studies have shown Hispanics to be much more lactose intolerant than Caucasians. Luckily, none of my children have inherited any milk allergies, but my husband can only handle dairy in small amounts.

Almond milk, about $6 a quart

  That wouldn't be a problem except that he LOVES dairy. Ice cream, cheese, milk, yogurt. Everything that is made from cow milk, he craves. The good news: he also loves goat milk (which is easier for l.i. folks.) And the better news is that he thinks nut milks are delicious.

Walnut milk $14.99 a quart

The bad news (again)? It's SUPER expensive. Walnut milk is 14.99 a quart in some places (like Amazon). We have six kids and I cook on a budget. I just can't imagine spending $14.99 for something you can drink in a day or two!
So, I was thinking of all the walnuts we have and decided to try and make my own.

I know these are hazelnuts. But I also had a whole bunch of hazelnuts around and decided to try two different varieties.

 So, rinse the nuts you have, if they're whole. No need to peel. Put them in a heat-proof dish and cover with boiling water. Add a few squeezes of lemon juice and a few shakes of salt. This is important. Every tutorial I had mentioned this and I decided to believe the people who wrote, "Don't skip this. It helps soften the nuts AND it brightens the flavor. Otherwise it tastes like mushroom water." Yuck. Mushroom water does not sound appealing!

 We had several canning jars full of shelled walnuts. (We also have a whole garbage can full of last year's nuts in the shed, curing for this year!)

 Let the nuts sit in the boiling water for several hours. I added a few more cups of boiling water to the bowls every now and then. Some people soak the nuts overnight, but most tutorials said a few hours, so that's what I tried first.
Strain the soaking water and put the nuts into a blender. Then for every one cup of nuts, add four cups of water. Some people use filtered water. I didn't think it really mattered since our water is pretty good.

 Blend for several minutes or until the water is light and frothy.

 If you have cheese cloth, great, but we'd just ruined our last one by letting it sit in red cabbage (don't ask) overnight. So, a pillow case also works. (Clean, naturally.) Place the pillow case over a large bowl.

 Dump everything into the pillow case. Doesn't look too appetizing!

 Carefully lift the case and let the walnut milk run out. You can squeeze the bottom to get the very last drops.

 This was pretty thick and I added a few more cups of water to the milk after I took this picture. It really was rich and creamy. I put some in fresh brewed espresso right away and it was INCREDIBLE. So good!
Anyway, at this point, some people put in a drop of vanilla and some honey, or other sweetener. I put in 1/2 tsp of raw sugar (cow's milk has sugar so although we knew it wasn't going to taste like cow's milk, I still wanted it to taste like MILK).

 You can see how creamy it is.

 The flavor reminded me of agua de orchata, a rice drink my husband makes sometimes, so I decided to put on a dash or two of cinnamon.

 OH MY WORD. Delicious! My husband drank the whole thing and had NO issues at all. His stomach wasn't cramping and there was no nausea. Plus, it has great nutrition, low fat, and helps lower cholesterol? YAY! He's a pretty active guy but he's pushing 50 and we've got to keep that heart healthy!

 So, the hazelnuts were waiting patiently.

 I could tell this batch would be different.

 It looks very rich and frothy.

 This was before I diluted it a little further with some water but you can see the darker color. It smelled heavenly even before the vanilla. It reminded me of the best hazelnut coffee creamers, but without any chemical taste.

The kids said this one was their favorite, maybe because it was so flavorful, but I think I like the walnut milk. My husband had a second glass of this one and said he really couldn't choose between them. 

So, there you go! It's super quick and easy to make your own nut milks if you have the curiosity, or the need, for a non-dairy alternative in your house. It can last up to a week in the fridge and a lot of people use these milks for their smoothies... but outs disappeared in hours. YUM. Now I'm wondering about granitas and other frozen deserts. Maybe I'll try that next!

Until next time! Be sure to stop by my author page at Mary Jane Hathaway, my other author page Virginia Carmichael, or my blog at The Things That Last. We've been super busy with state testing, college stuff, baseball, a woolen mills tour, and an alpaca farm visit, but I hope to finish my newest historical in the next few weeks. (Wouldn't it be great to have an alpaca on the cover?? No?? Ok, fine...)

Vegan Gingerbread Scones

Here's a trick question. How can a scone be healthy?

My honest answer is that depends on what you mean by healthy. Scones are so wonderful and satisfying, that eating one (or more) with a cup of tea is soul-satisfying, and that's healthy for your well being.

But, there is this little thing about all that sugar, and butter, and well, I won't dwell on it if you won't.

There is a heart-healthy alternative though. One you can indulge in without any guilt at all.

For Christmas morning, my daughter baked us some absolutely lovely and delicious gingerbread scones.

I was still sleeping while she did this baking, so alas, I have no photos of the baking in progress.
I do have the end result.


The recipe came from this beautiful blog - Salted Plains - Gingerbread Scones with Cranberries

The recipe might sound intimidating with the long list of ingredients, but it was absolutely worth it.

I love the mix of flours  - rice, almond, sorghum - and the spices were divine - ginger, cinnamon, cloves. Dried cranberries gave a nice burst of tart flavor, but the scones were richly flavorful on their own. We didn't add the drizzle, but I'm sure it would have been a nice sweet touch.

The Salted Plains scones look gorgeous. Our photography isn't as great - we were too busy eating.

So, if you're looking for a healthy way to indulge - this is a great recipe to try.

PS - they froze very well. I still have a couple left and I'm parsing them out. They taste really good with cream cheese on them!

This pretty tea cup was a present from Seekerville many years ago.

Followup from last week - the black-eyed peas Shepherd's Pie was delicious!
It tasted even better the next day with some grated cheddar on top!!!