Butter Mints

The concept of a butter-mint may sound crazy to some of you… mints made out of butter. Yes, pure butter! There are some recipes that call for a mix of butter & coconut oil or coconut butter… but I prefer the plain old, grass-fed butter variation that lends itself to a very silky, melty texture and pure taste of mint (instead of coconut-mint). But, what the heck are butter mints anyway? Right. Well, they are just little dollops of flavored butter, basically. In this case, flavored with peppermint extract, a bit of raw honey, sea salt, and some raw cacao powder. Very simple. They look like this:

But, why would you just decide to eat some dollops of butter?? Right. So, say you find yourself craving sugar every day. Or say your child is always asking for cookies or sweets - Butter Mints can be a great alternative to these things. It is impossible to eat many at once (I can’t do more than 3) as they are just dollops of healthy fat going in your belly - which fills you up quite fast as the digestion required to break that down takes a longer time than it does for a cracker or sugar cookie. Fat burns longer than sugar - and it also slows down the absorption of sugar so that you enjoy sustained levels of blood sugar instead of spikes. There have now been many studies that show fat doesn’t make you fat… it’s mainly sugar and excessive simple carbohydrates that do that, but beyond the weight issue, healthy fatty acids from grass-fed butter nourish and fuel our brains, establish good hormone health, and increase good cholesterol. I consider butter an essential food group for kids, especially. Read more about just how healthy butter can be here. I keep a jar of these in the freezer for my toddler (and myself too, let’s be honest) and he eats them as “special treats” often - because they are delicious! So, now that you are convinced it’s worth a try, here’s the recipe:

Pure Butter Mints:

  • ½ cup butter (1 stick), organic grass-fed butter is the healthiest! 
  • ¼ tsp. peppermint extract (or more to taste)
  • 2 Tbs. raw honey
  • Small pinch of unrefined sea salt
  • Optional: 1 Tbs. cacao powder for a chocolate version

Bring butter to room temperature, mix all ingredients in a bowl with a spatula until silky smooth and completely mixed. Place butter mixture into a plastic bag or pastry bag and use a pastry tip to squeeze nickel-sized dollops onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or just cut the corner end off of your plastic bag). Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until set - store in a glass jar in the freezer and eat chilled! 

My husband loves when I make what I call “Rainbow Bowls”. Tasting Table made a really great info-graphic on how to create a balanced bowl based on macrobiotic principles with several variations to keep your palate happy. We love making this type of dish for dinner and having heaps of leftovers for lunches during the week. Make a quick bowl of dressing like this Sunflower dip to spoon on the top and you’ll be surprised at just how delicious macrobiotic can be. 

My own variations for macro-bowls include some traditional Chinese medicine changes, naturally, like adding chicken/egg/beef/fish for those who are not vegetarian or need extra protein; adding different greens like collards/kale/chard for extra heartiness and iron; religiously garnishing with gomasio or sesame seeds/nuts; and adding a sour flavor for total balance like pickled beets/cabbage or sauerkraut. 

These bowls are always so colorful and vibrant - they never fail to put me in a good mood. They leave me feeling light, satisfied & energetic… Isn’t that what food should do in the first place? 

Easy Kale Salads 3 Ways

I would go so far as to say that everyone needs to eat more dark greens. People get easily confounded by this category of food (kale, collards, chard, mustard greens, etc) with reason - they look wild, coarse, and untamed, too hearty to eat easily, and are renown as bitter or earthy in taste. But they are actually so simple to eat! And truly delicious! So healthy and nutrient rich! And look how beautiful! It’s a definite shame to pass them over at the market, so I wanted to offer a few of the easiest, no-cook ways to enjoy one of my very favorite greens and maybe the most popular of the group: Kale. I repeat – no cooking involved! Just be sure to cut the thick stems off before eating raw. 

Avocado & Apple Kale

Curly kale, with one avocado, shelled pistachio nuts, lemon juice, and thinly sliced green apple. Place washed kale and diced avocado in a large bowl. Start massaging the kale and avocado with your hands until all the leaves are coated in an avocado mush. Combine with apples and squeeze lemon juice over everything. Toss again with utensils. Add pistachio nuts and black pepper, salt if needed. Enjoy! Even better the next day! 

Tuscan Kale

Dino Kale (aka lacinato kale), with a dressing of 4 Tbsp olive oil, 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 mashed garlic clove, 2 Tbsp grated parmesan, pinch sea salt, pepper, red chili flakes. Pour dressing over kale and toss to coat well. Use your salad tongs to really mash the kale leaves and get the oil & citrus to start wilting the leaves, let sit for about 5 minutes. Top with more parmesan and enjoy! 

Cranberry-Feta Kale

Dino, curly, or purple kale, dried cranberries, raw sunflower seeds, with a dressing of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, salt and pepper. Again, let the dressing really coat all the kale leaves and let sit for 5 minutes so the leaves soften. Top with creamy, crumbled feta cheese. One of my favorite, last minute lunches! 

Quinoa Rainbowls

There is one thing that has become a go-to dish at our house for an easy, quick lunch or dinner. I call them Rainbow Bowls (RainBowls!). My favorite thing about this dish is the versatility. You can literally use anything you have around to create a bowl of warm grain, topped with a variety of raw and cooked vegetables and condiments. This week I did Red Quinoa Rainbowls topped with all sorts of veggies and some leftover red beans, drizzled with flavorful sesame oil, shoyu, gomasio, and red chili flakes. I love the contrast of a warm meal that still has some refreshing crunch to it. 

You can make these bowls with more than just quinoa, of course. Brown rice, forbidden black rice, millet all work great - even soba noodles. Top with any chopped veggies you have leftover in the house: tomato, carrots, green beans, cabbage, greens, cucumber, onion, mushroom, bok choy, broccoli, and so on. Choose a variety of COLOR to make your rainbowl pop! Rainbow bowls are my homemade version of Korean Bi Bim Bop, which I love more than almost anything, and they are also a fun way to get the family involved in the kitchen, make an assembly line and have everyone just pick and choose what they want as toppings. Arrange toppings in a circle atop your chosen grain to make a beautiful color wheel of vegetables. :)

Red Quinoa Rainbowl with Egg:

1 Cup red quinoa

Purple cabbage, chopped

Mushrooms, chopped

Carrot, chopped

Green onion, chopped

Red kidney beans, cooked (rinse first, if from the can)

Cilantro

1 farm fresh egg, cooked over easy-medium

Tamari or shoyu

Toasted sesame oil

Gomasio mixture

Red chili flakes, dried

Cook quinoa and let cool for a few minutes. Portion into large bowls and top with chopped veggies, beans, and any herbs you choose, arranging them in a circle around the grain. Drizzle with shoyu, sesame oil, and shake on some gomasio and chili flakes. Top with egg and serve! 

1 c quinoa, once cooked, should be enough for 4 servings or more. 

* I play around with toppings like I said, this is just one example of options. Also crumbled tempeh is great on top instead of egg, or any leftover meat you have in the house. Use sriracha sauce for a kick; or any favorite salad dressing would do the trick for pickier eaters.