Recipe of the Month: Maple Fruit Compote with Honey-Ginger Toasted Nuts

Adapted from "The Cane Mutiny," New Age Magazine, March/April 1999

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
2-3 apples
2-3 peaches or pears
2 table spoons of "real" maple syrup
1/2 cup raisins
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup walnuts or nuts of your choice
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons of "raw" honey



Directions:

1. Wash, core and chop fruit into slices or chunks.
2. Place in a large saucepan with 1/3 cup of water.  Add the maple syrup and raisins.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes
4. Add lemon juice and cinnamon.  Cook for anouther 10 minutes, until soft
5. While fruit is cooking, place chopped nuts in a skillet over medium heat and toast, stirring often for 5 minutes.
6. Drizzle honey over th enuts and add ginger, but keep stirring since the honey can easily burn.
7. Top warm fruit with toasted nuts and enjoy!

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Oh So Sweet Strawberry Smoothie

 

Hey friends, it's been a while since my last post.  I apologize.  I've been recovering from tennis elbow surgery and it's still very hard for me to type without experiencing  a lot of pain.  I wanted to share with you a quick and easy recipe that can be used  for a satisfying treat or even a fulfilling meal.  That's been the name of the game for me over the last month - quick and easy, since I am not allowed to lift anything or do any strenuous activity.  Here's the recipe for my non-dairy for my Oh So  Sweet Strawberry Smoothie made with Coconut-Almond milk.  One sip and you'd swear you were sipping one of those sensational tropical adult drinks on an exotic island.  This tasty beverage can be enjoyed by kids of all ages.  Best of all, it's roughly 80 to 100 calories, depending on the amount of strawberries you use or if you need a little extra almond-coconut milk to thin it out.  Try it out and tell me what you think.

Ingredients:

6 to 8 medium/large frozen strawberries

8 to 10 ounces of almond-coconut milk (found in the same section as soy milk)

1 or 2 packets of stevia (all-natural sweetener, no bitter aftertaste, better than those chemical sugar substitutes we are told are safe and excellent alternatives to sugar....uh...NOT!  Stevia is sold at health food stores, including GNC )

Toss all of the ingredients into your blender, magic bullet or whatever blender-like wonder you have, let it rip until it's "smooth".  Pour into your favorite cup, grab a straw and enjoy!

That's all to it.  The only warning here is to control yourself.  You'll want to slurp the entire thing down in seconds and even consider seconds.  You could if you were going to make this a meal.  I'd suggest adding a scoop of your favorite protein powder to give it a little more sustenance for your appetite.