Quinoa granola bars

Quinoa Granola Bars

I think my dog Kona is missing our little pal, Pumpkin, as much as I am. Pumpkin died last week from Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FEV), kind of a feline version of AIDS. The veterinarian isn't sure how he got it but no matter, it's really bad stuff.

There is no vaccine for it. Pretty much, all you can do is make sure your cat is screened for it before adoption. Pumpkin was a feral cat that we adopted from a friend who knew nothing about the disease and neither did we. Even our vet never mentioned it until Pumpkin got sick.

Kona and I are spending more time together. We just got back from an hour-long walk with lots of stops for Kona to dip in the irrigation canal. Now, it's time to snack on one of the Quinoa Granola Bars I recently made. Kona will have a few of her Hill's dental kibbles.

Quinoa Granola Bars
Ingredients:

1. Nonstick cooking spray
2. 1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes
3. 1 1/4 cups cooked quinoa grain, toasted
4. 2 T. cacao nibs
5. 1/4 cup yacon powder
6. 1/2 cup yacon syrup
7. 1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Spray an 8-X-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place 1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes in a large bowl.
3. Spread 1 1/4 cups cooked quinoa grains on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.
4. Once cooled, add the toasted quinoa to the large bowl with the quinoa flakes. Stir in the cacao nibs. Set aside.
5. In a medium saucepan, mix together the yacon powder, yacon syrup and olive oil. Place over medium high heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring for 1 minute.
6. Remove from heat and add to the quinoa flakes and grains. Stir until all the grains and nibs are coated and combined.
7. Evenly pour the quinoa mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. Cut into bars.
8. Store in an airtight container and wrap individual bars and freeze for future snacking.

Chocolate sunflower seed tart-ACD friendly

Chocolate sunflower seed tart

It's been a really sad time for me the past week. My little cat pal, Pumpkin, died after a long illness. He was barely four years old so it was unexpected. I'm having a hard time dealing with his loss. Right now, there are no cats in the kitchen, only my dog pal, Kona.

I'm somewhat of an emotional eater but I'm trying to avoid eating foods that will increase my candida symptoms. I did make the Chocolate Sunflower Seed Tart, pictured above. I shared it with others to avoid being tempted to eat more than I should. It's especially good topped with berries of some sort.

Chocolate Sunflower Seed Tart

Crust Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cups toasted sunflower seeds
2. 1/4 tsp. salt
3. 1/4 tsp. baking soda
4. 2 T. olive oil
5. 2 T. yacon syrup

Crust directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grind the toasted sunflower seeds to a flour-like consistency in a food processor.
2. Add in the salt, baking soda and give another pulse to blend. Then, blend in the olive oil and yacon syrup.
3. Spoon the crust mixture into a sprayed pie pan. Using damp fingers spread the crust evenly along the bottom and sides of the pan.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
5. Remove the crust from the oven and allow to cool.

Filling Ingredients:

1. 1 medium sweet potato, baked and peeled
2. 2 T. sunbutter
3. 3/4 cup hempmilk
4. 2 T. ground flax mixed with 1/4 cup hempmilk
5. 1 T. yacon syrup
6. 1 tsp. chia seeds
7. dash of powdered stevia
8. 1 T. cacao powder

Filling Directions:

1.  Place sweet potato in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add in other ingredients and keep blending until everything is mixed and smooth.
2. Spoon the filling evenly into the cooled sunflower seed crust.
3. Chill in the fridge.
4. Serving suggestion: place the tart in the freezer for 30 minutes or so before serving.

Zucchini fries

Zucchini fries ready for the oven

Zucchini fries ready to eat

Candida may have reared its ugly head again for me which is probably due to me getting too lax with carbs. It's mainly impacting my stomach. All I'm craving is salty things to soothe my irritated tummy.

Low-carb salty snacks are in short supply but zucchini fries fills the bill for me. All you need is a mandolin slicer with a fry-cutting blade to make these. This recipe also will come in handy later in the gardening season when zucchinis are in abundance.

Zucchini fries (1 serving)
Ingredients:
1 or 2 zucchinis depending on size and your appetite
dash of olive oil and pan spray
lots of salt

Directions:
Wash and trim your zucchini. Slice into fry-sized pieces with a mandolin. If you don't have a mandolin, use a sharp knife. Mandolins are a great kitchen utensil. You can pick up a cheap one for less than $20.

Toss the zucchini fries with a dash of olive oil. Lay the fries on a pan-sprayed baking sheet. Salt the fries as desired. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. Rotate the pan and check the fries frequently to avoid overcooking. As an alternative, the fries can be cooked in oil in a skillet.