Rosemary Roasted Cashews

To be very honest, I've never been too much of a nut fan.  And by that I mean I would never just choose to munch on plain nuts.  However, I've learned to be able to enjoy some nuts (i.e. almonds!) especially when they are roasted with some other natural flavors.  

Cy on the other hand is a huge nut fan and is munching away on nuts all the time.  Seeing Cy eat them, I always wondered if too many nuts can be harmful to your body, but the verdict is out.  He recently had his bloodwork done and all of his numbers are amazing.  His LDL/TGL are super low while his HDL is through the roof. His A1c was 4.8.  For those of you that are unaware,  the Hemoglobin A1c reading basically helps determine how well your body has been regulating blood sugar by looking at the sugar sticking to your red blood cells.  Normal people should be in the 4.0-5.9% range and diabetics should be striving to be below 6.5%.  Needless to say, Cy's endocrinologist was impressed.   

So in light of this fact, I've been making more of an effort to snack on nuts. Cashews are not particularly a favorite of mine, but this recipe works really great with them...you may have noticed that I over-roasted them a little in the pictures...this was definitely not intended, but they still came out tasty ;)

I made a little package for Cy.  He saw the note and said it was cheesy, but it made him laugh so mission accomplished :)

Rosemary Roasted Cashews

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds cashew nuts
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon melted butter

Directions

1)  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2) Place the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, pepper, sugar, and salt. 

3) Drizzle the oil on the warm nuts.  Sprinkle the rosemary mixture until the nuts are completely coated. Serve warm.

Strawberry Elderflower Frozen Yogurt

This week at the farmer's market, one of the stands had the little wild strawberries that tend to be so much sweeter than their larger counterpart.  I regret not buying more, as these were so sweet, they almost tasted like candy.  

Which reminds me of something my little sis said to me when we were young. "How come the strawberry flavored sweets taste like that? That's not even what real strawberries taste like."  The Japanese tend to really like "strawberry-flavored" candy, so they have everything from strawberry flavored kit kats and oreos, to strawberry flavored mochi.  We didn't realize at the time that the flavor of strawberries we find at regular American grocery are incredibly diluted to what they are supposed to taste like when grown under best conditions.  

When my sis bit into a strawberry for the first time in Japan, she actually exclaimed, "Now I know why 'strawberry-flavored' sweets taste the way they do".  And if any of you have had strawberries in Japan, then I'm sure you know what she means.  In anycase, the point of this long story was that these little strawberries from the farmer's market were sweet enough to be its own dessert.  However, this frozen yogurt makes for a refreshing treat too ;)

Not to mention, it's super easy to make!  It's basically just greek yogurt, strawberries, some elderflower liquor and a little bit of sweetner thrown into the ice cream maker.  All the Vitamin C and other antioxidants in the strawberries combined with the high protein, pro-biotic goodness of greek yogurt makes for one amazing dessert/snack.  

A Happy V-day with "Healthy" Strawberry and Banana Muffins

Happy Valentine's Day!  I definitely don't believe that we need a holiday to show the people we care about how special they are...but, the day is a good excuse to make cute heart shaped goodies.

I happen to think that one of the best features of the muffin is its consistency.  And sometimes, you just want to sink your teeth into that warm soft cake in all of its carbolicious glory.  He won't admit to it, but I know Cy has those moments too.  So as a compromise, I tried to make a "healthier" version so that Cy can indulge too...and I can enjoy them with less guilt ;)

"Healthy" Strawberry Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

2........eggs

1/4c...unsweetened applesauce

1/2c...plain yogurt

2tbsp..honey

1tsp....vanilla extract

2-3.....bananas (mashed)

1c......almond meal

1/2c...whole wheat flour

1/2c...oats

1tsp...baking soda

1tbsp..ground cinnamon

1c.......fresh strawberries (chopped)

Recipe:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 12 cup muffin tin with liners.

2) In a large bowl, mix together all wet ingredients (eggs, applesauce, yogurt, honey vanilla, and bananas).

3) In another bowl, mix together dry ingredients (almond meal, whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, and cinnamon).

4) Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.  It's important not to overmix since we are using some wheat flour - this is the secret to fluffy muffins! 

5) Stir in the strawberries, and fill the muffin liners evenly with the batter. 

6) Bake for about 20min or until the muffin tops spring back when pressed lightly.  Let muffins cool and 

    ENJOY!

*I decorated mine with strawberry slices cut out to look like a heart ;)

*Also, this is another very versatile recipe.  If you don't have almond meal, feel free to use all wheat flour.  Or you can even add maybe a 1/4c of flax seeds instead of oats for some extra fiber.