Mrs. Jocelyn Klotz  from “Homemaker In Progress” !

We pray it will be a blessing to you, and that you enjoy this yummy recipe!

Hello Practical Simplicity readers!

I am Jocelyn Klotz.  The LORD brought my family and the Konvalin’s together for the first time a little over a year ago when we came to visit their church during a family trip to California.  We quickly found that we have a lot in common; one of which, is a passion for eating and living a naturally healthy lifestyle.

Along this line of natural health, I would like to share with you one of our family’s favorite, healthy winter desserts.  Actually, we have it throughout the year too, but it’s especially great during the winter season when unhealthy sugary treats abound and you desire a healthier alternative.

My Background:

I am your average housewife whose eyes have been opened to truth, Biblical truths, in the area of health and nutrition.  I do not have a medical degree but I would definitely consider myself an “informed consumer”.  I am certified as a Raw Food Teacher/Chef through the Living on Live Food program and have studied natural health on my own for over the past 9 years.  I don’t proclaim to know everything, but what I do know, I share.

A Biblical Focus:

When it comes to natural health, our foundation, as with any other area in our lives, comes from the Word of God.  If you are new to natural health, I would like to list three simple principles for your consideration from Rex Russell’s book, What The Bible Has To Say About Healthy Living.  These principles have been foundational in our own family’s Biblical approach to health.

1. Eat the foods God created for you.

2. Don’t alter God’s design.

3. Don’t let any food or drink become your god.

The Recipe:

I hope you will be encouraged to try this recipe.  It is absolutely DELICIOUS, easy, and totally healthy.  I have another version of this recipe, but this is the easiest.  To give credit where credit is due, the original recipe came from The Nourishing Gourmet blog, but I have tweaked it slightly to suit our tastes.   You may want to double or triple the recipe. Enjoy! 

“Divine Coconut Peanut Butter Fudge”

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup virgin coconut oil

½ cup raw cacao powder (raw chocolate)

½ cup coconut sugar or honey

¼ cup peanut butter or almond butter (optional)

Seeds from 1 vanilla bean (or ½ tsp. vanilla extract)

Dash of sea salt

Melt the coconut oil (be careful not to overheat).  If using granulated coconut sugar, blend it in a blender until it is a light powder.  Mix all ingredients together until well combined.

Place parchment paper in a loaf or glass pan.  Pour fudge into pan and place it in the refrigerator or freezer to set.  Cut into candy-size pieces and serve cold.  Coconut oil melts above 76*.  Store in refrigerator for 12 months.

*This recipe substitutes well with other ingredients.  Feel free to experiment!

Article by:

~Mrs. Jocelyn Klotz~

]]> http://practicalsimplicity.com/blog/2011/04/surprise-guest-post-recipe/feed/ 4 http://practicalsimplicity.com/blog/2010/03/good-bye-leftover-oatmeal/ http://practicalsimplicity.com/blog/2010/03/good-bye-leftover-oatmeal/#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:18:47 +0000 practicalsimplicity http://practicalsimplicity.com/blog/?p=649 …..hello yummy muffins.  I was recently reading some of Laine’s Letters and stumbled across this muffin recipe that calls for leftover cooked oatmeal.  Oh could this possibly be the answer to our slimy science experiments lurking in the back of the refrigerator???  My family and I love muffins so I decided to give the recipe a try.  To my surprise and delight this has become our new family favorite.  Enjoy!

Oatmeal Muffins

(Makes 1 dozen)

Whisk together in a medium sized bowl the following ingredients:

1 cup flour (we have used everything from white to fresh ground wheat, spelt, and kamut)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

In another medium sized bowl mix the following ingredients together:

1/2 cup oil (we used melted coconut oil)

2 eggs

1 cup leftover cooked oatmeal

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp. vanilla

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl and combine until just moistened.  Fill greased muffin tins 2/3′s full.  Bake for 18 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Here are some variations we have made with yummy results:

Substitute dried cranberries for the raisins

Omit the cinnamon and raisins add 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.

You can use any leftover porridge type cereal for this recipe.  We have used brown rice porridge and a homemade 7-grain hot cereal mix .

This recipe can be doubled or tripled.

From our kitchen to yours…

Over at THIS blog, a lady is giving away two Kitchen Aid Mixers! The trick is that when you enter the giveaway, you must mention that “Miss Antoinette sent me” to the giveaway!  If you win and my name is on the comment selected, we both win one of the mixers!  How neat is that!?  I would love to have this in my hope chest!  How about you!?

So join in on the fun!

Blessings in Christ,

I would recommend everyone to go see it, but don’t just take it from me,  my Dad wrote a review on his blog  ~HERE~!

~HERE~ is a link to the trailer, and to some other good movies related to “Food Inc.” (the trailer to “Food Inc.” is at the end of the post!)

In Him,

Antoinette K.

On day four our taste test showed the pickles were not ready. They had great flavor but we could still taste the sweetness of the cucumber. At that point the brine had not fully penetrated them so we left them alone for a few more days. We tasted the pickles again on day seven and were very happy with the results. We really like the garlic~dill flavor they have.

We put two quarts of the pickles in a bowl for our church potluck on Sunday where they quickly disappeared. We will definitely make them again.

Enjoying our delicious pickles……

~Donna

Little by little my daughter and I are learning to make our own food items. Part of the reason is to save money and stretch the grocery budget. However, the main reason for making our own is we know exactly what was and was not put into it.

If you would like to see what food goes through before it lands on the shelves of the grocery store go ~here~ for a couple of upcoming eye opening movie trailers.

With that said, on Friday, Antoinette and I made pickles, fermented pickles. They will not be ready until sometime later this week so we will let you know how they turned out in the near future. Here is what they look like:

When the pickles are done we will slice them and put them into quart sized jars with some of the strained brine. These will not be processed in a canner as the heat from doing so would kill all the great enzymes and friendly bacteria they will possess. Stored in the refrigerator they will keep for over a year! Not that they will last that long even with just three of us who will eat them.

For more information on the benefits of fermenting foods you can go ~here~ and ~here~.

Happy fermenting!

Donna