Amy's Kitchen...an awesome company !!

I have emailed several companies to ask about their ingredient sources and purity. I was concerned about milk and cheese ingredients. This is the reply I received from Amy's. I love this company. Their food is awesome and they are supporting Proposition 37 in California. If California gets GMO labeling, so will the rest of the US and Canada. I went shopping yesterday and picked up some Amy's Kitchen.

Amy's Kitchen has very strict requirements for their cheeses.  The milk must come from cows that have not been treated with rBST. The cheese must be made without any animal rennet or rennet derived from genetic engineering.  It must taste great and melt to perfection when heated.  And, as a more practical consideration, the cheese cannot be so expensive that it would make Amy's Kitchen's products unaffordable for our customers.

In our first few years of production, we could not find good quality organic cheeses that met these requirements.  Over the years, more suppliers have made organic cheeses that meet our composition and flavor requirements and the costs of organic cheeses have come down as well.  Because of this, we are now able to incorporate more organic cheeses into our products.  The Cheese Lasagna, Cheese Enchiladas, Burrito Especial and Mushroom Olive Pizza now contain some organic cheese. 

Our Quality Assurance Department has very strict requirements for each and every shipment of cheese.  Our staff has visited the cheese plants of each and every supplier to assure they have systems in place to avoid any contamination with unacceptable chemicals or compounds.  In addition, we have sent our cheeses out for pesticide testing; all results have been ND (non-detectable).  So even though our products may contain a mix of both organic and conventional cheese, you should feel comfortable that all our cheeses, conventional and organic, meet a very high standard for quality in the industry.

You might also be interested to know that all our fresh milk and cream are now organic.  These are easier ingredients to find in the quantities and at the quality level we require so we have been able to convert existing products and develop new products with these ingredients. 

Salad Dressings...delicious, safe, non GMO and healthy

I love salads. I am an organic gardener and love to forage for salad ingredients. I have found some healthy salad dressings that taste pretty awful. I am thrilled to report that I have found Litehouse brand. Following is a list of their organic dressings. Their dressings contain soybean and canola oil, so you need to choose organic. I will review each as I try them.

Organic Raspberry Lime Vinaigrette by Litehouse Foods
Ingredients
WATER, ORGANIC SUGAR, ORGANIC DISTILLED VINEGAR, ORGANIC SOYBEAN OIL, ORGANIC RASPBERRY PUREE, ORGANIC RASPBERRY JUICE CONCENTRATE (ORGANIC RASPBERRY, ORGANIC APPLE, ORGANIC PEAR AND ORGANIC ELDERBERRY JUICE CONCENTRATES, ORGANIC FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID), ORGANIC CORN STARCH, ORGANIC RED GRAPE CONCENTRATE, ORGANIC DIJON MUSTARD (ORGANIC APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, WATER, ORGANIC MUSTARD SEED, SALT, ORGANIC SPICES), SALT, ORGANIC HIBISCUS, XANTHAN GUM, ORGANIC FLAVORS, ORGANIC ROSEMARY EXTRACT.
Erin: I love this dressing. It is tangy and sweet. Very flavorful. The colour of this dressing on the salad is absolutely beautiful.

Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette by Litehouse Foods
Ingredients
WATER, ORGANIC SOYBEAN OIL, ORGANIC BALSAMIC VINEGAR, ORGANIC SUGAR, ORGANIC PARMESAN CHEESE (ORGANIC WHOLE MILK, CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), ORGANIC DRIED GARLIC, SALT, ORGANIC CORN STARCH, ORGANIC SPICES, NATURAL FLAVOR, XANTHAN GUM.

Organic Caesar by Litehouse Foods
Ingredients
ORGANIC SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, ORGANIC CIDER VINEGAR, ORGANIC PARMESAN CHEESE (ORGANIC WHOLE MILK, CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), SALT, ORGANIC SUGAR, ORGANIC LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, ORGANIC GARLIC, ORGANIC SPICE, NATURAL ANCHOVY FLAVOR, XANTHAN GUM, ORGANIC MUSTARD SEED, ORGANIC CRUSHED RED PEPPERS, ORGANIC ROSEMARY EXTRACT.

Organic Ranch by Litehouse Foods
Ingredients
ORGANIC SOYBEAN OIL, ORGANIC BUTTERMILK, WATER, ORGANIC CIDER VINEGAR, ORGANIC EGG YOLK, ORGANIC SUGAR, SALT, ORGANIC DISTILLED VINEGAR, ORGANIC ONION, ORGANIC MODIFIED CORN STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN, CULTURED DEXTROSE, ORGANIC MILK POWDER, ORGANIC SPICE, LACTIC ACID, XANTHAN GUM, ORGANIC GUAR GUM, CITRIC ACID, ORGANIC EXTRACT.

Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce by Erin & Allan

1 can organic coconut milk

3 rounded tbsp organic cane sugar

2/3 cup peanut butter

Pinch crushed chilis

1/2 tsp black pepper

Pinch cumin

Pinch chinese five spice powder

Put it all in a pot and bring to a boil. Let boil for a minute or two. Add sauce to chicken and stir fry veggies. There will be a LOT of sauce. We used it the following night as a sauce on rice. It is really delicious if we do say so ourselves. 

Luscious Potato Soup

Luscious Potato Soup

From Recipes for a small Planet

	1/4 cupVegetable oil
	2 cupsOnions chopped
	1 cupCarrots diced
	1 cupCelery chopped
	6 mediumpotatoes diced
	1 quartVegetable stock
	2 teaspoonsSalt
	1 teaspoonMarjoram
	1 teaspoonDill seeds
	1/2 teaspoonPaprika
	1 teaspoonCaraway Seed
	1 1/2 cups non-instantMilk Powder

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a large stockpot. Saute the onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes until the onions are transparent.

Pour in the stock, salt and spices (not the milk powder), bring to a boil, cover and pressure cook for 20 minutes, or simmer about 1 hour until the potatoes are very tender, but won''t fall apart.

Dissolve the milk powder in 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the soup liquid. To avoid lumps, mix in a blender or with an immersion blender. Return the mixture to the pot and simmer about 1 minute.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Kitchen Sink Cookies (from Recipes for a Small Planet)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1 1/3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1/4 cup milk powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
2/3 cup raisins (I leave these out)
2/3 cup chocolate chips (I use carob chips)
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs, beaten

1. Stir together all of the dry ingredients
2. Beat the eggs in a small bowl; measure the oil then the honey and molasses in the same measuring cup. Beat all the liquid ingredients together thoroughly.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine until the dry ingredients are moistened. If the mixture seems too dry add some milk or water until the dough is of drop cookie consistency.
4. Drop the cookies on to an unoiled cookie sheet. Bake at 350*F for 10-12 minutes. 

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 Clove Garlic, minced
3 lb butternut squash {peeled and diced}
1 sweet potato {peeled and diced}
2 Apples {peeled, cored and diced}
6 cups vegetable stock
1Tbsp rosemary, or 1 tsp dried
1 Tbsp thyme, or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
A pinch of cayenne {optional}

Heat oil in a large pot. Sauté onions and garlic until soft and fragrant. Add squash, sweet potato and apples. Stir to combine. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until squash is very soft. Purée soup. I use a stick blender, but you must be very careful if soup is hot. Return to heat for five minutes to warm soup.

 

 

Apple Flax Muffins

Apple Flax Muffins
(This is a variation on the Pumpkin Bran Flax Muffins recipe)

Mix together:
1 1/2 cups Unbleached White Flour
3/4 cup Flaxseed Meal
3/4 cup oat bran
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon

Stir in:
2 large grated apples
Handful of pecans
Handful of organic chocolate chips
Handful of organic blueberries

Combine:
3/4 cup Almond Milk
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

Mix the wet ingredients into dry. Stir until moistened, do not over mix. If it's a bit too dry add a bit more almond milk. Put mix in oiled muffin tin and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Makes 15 servings.

Cottage Cheese Cake

Cottage Cheese Cake

From Recipes for a Small Planet

4 eggs
2 cups fat free or low fat cottage cheese
½ cup honey
½ tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice OR ½ tsp vanilla
Cinnamon

Topping
1 ½ cups yogurt
2 Tbsp honey
½ tsp vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare a 10” pie crust-graham cracker or regular pie crust. Partially bake the crust according to crust recipe directions. I use an 8x8" square dish so I make squares rather than pie.

Whip eggs in blender or food processor. Add cottage cheese ½ cup at a time and blend until smooth.
Pour mixture into small bowl. Stir in honey, salt and lemon juice or vanilla.
Pour into pie crust. Dust with cinnamon (to taste). Bake for about 20 minutes.
Stir together  topping ingredients, pour it over the partially baked pie and bake another 10 to 15 minutes.
When done, a knife inserted in the center will come out clean. Cool pie about 1 hour on a rack and then chill several hours or overnight before serving.
I like to serve the cake with raspberries. Use any kind of fruit you like.

Bran Flax Muffins

Bran Flax Muffins
Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods recipe (modified a bit)

1-1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour or Unbleached White
3/4 cup Flax Seed Meal
3/4 cup Oat Bran Cereal
1 cup Raw Organic Sugar
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
1-1/2 cups finely shredded Carrots
2 peeled and shredded Apples
1 cup chopped Nuts (pecans)
3/4 cup Almond Milk
2 beaten Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

Directions

Mix together flour, Flaxseed Meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Stir in carrots, apples and nuts. Combine milk, beaten eggs and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.

Yield: 15 medium muffins or 24 small

**For a twist on this great recipe- try substituting 3/4 cup Hazelnut Meal in place of the Oat Bran.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Garlic Scape Pesto

(Delicious)

Ingredients

1 cup of garlic scapes, top flowery part removed, cut into  1/4 inch slices

1/3 cup of pine nuts 

3/4 cup of olive oil 

1/2 cup grated parmisan cheese 

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

black pepper to taste 

Preparation:

Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. For 1/2 pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated.

I freeze my pesto in an ice-cube tray and freeze for winter. 

Raw Chocolate Macaroons

Raw Chocolate Macaroons 

Filling, delicious and completely healthy

2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1 1/2 cups cacao/cocoa powder

1 cup agave nectar

1/3 cup coconut oil 

1 tbsp vanilla powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

Mix all dry ingredients together in your mixer. Pour in wet ingredients and mix until all blended. Roll into balls and refrigerate. You can put a little tuft of coconut shreds on top of each.

Simply put...

Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food.

Hippocrates

What does Food for Life mean

I have been intensively studying all things food for about 40 years. It started with finding yogurt in a little health food store in Calgary. I went to this little shop every day at lunch during High School, and spent $.25 on a container of carrot, walnut and honey yogurt. Remember it was forty years ago and very few people knew what yogurt or health food stores were. I also did yoga at seven every morning with a wonderful TV yoga teacher named Kareen Zebroff. As I moved into my 20's, I became a vegetarian and read Diet for a Small Planet. Then bought Recipes for a Small Planet. I read and cooked, read and cooked. I had a beautiful son, who happens to be the pickiest eater ever put on this planet. Over the years I drifted further and further from my healthy food obsession. The past three years have been a journey back. In the spring of 2011, I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to start an organic vegetable garden. With the help of my husband (and gardener's assistant), I have created a lovely back yard full of veggies. My tropical/orchid greenhouse has been cleaned out and grows veggies as well. I've learned to grow vegetables from seed. You can follow this gardening journey in my blog Organic Gardening in Sidney.

As I started eating my own blissful salads with violas, nasturtiums and colorful vegetables, and foraging for berries for dessert, I started reading a lot about food. And Monsanto, and GMO's and of course pesticides, additives and herbicides on food. I have become an absolute food vigilante. I feel so strongly about it...well I felt the need to start a new blog. My garden blog is not the right venue for this.

So, this blog is to share the information I find. The changes I've made to my cupboards. The healthy substitutes that I find for everyday products. I am doing so much research and conducting my own 'field trials' of alternate products that I am hoping to save you the time, effort and expense. I'll give you my first tip. I have been looking for a coffee cream substitute. I bought Silk Vanilla Coffee Creamer. It is non GMO so I tried it. I stuck with it for a week. My morning coffee consumption dropped from one cup to about a half. I could not finish a single cup. God awful. So I poured out the remainder and made my own creamer.

So, enjoy the blog and maybe we will learn something from each other.

Wood pulp in our food?

I have been hearing for a while that there is a filler being added to food. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. The ingredient is called Cellulose, which is actually wood. Yes, they shred it up and add it to our food. I've read a variety of reasons/excuses for adding it to food, such as it's an anti-caking agent, but frankly I think it's simply a way of making more money but charging us for, say Parmesan Cheese, while giving us wood pulp. So I have been reading the labels on everything in my cupboard and throwing anything out that doesn't meet my new standard. I was reading the label on, you guessed it, Parmesan Cheese and found this ingredient. Cellulose. Even though I knew it was being done, it still really shocked me. Who would think to pick up a container of cheese and find wood. I think I could get jaded. I went shopping and easily found a 100% Parmesan Cheese to replace the wood one. It was a bit more money, but the last one I had was probably a small fortune if you took out the wood I was paying good money for.