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Friday Food ~ Caramel Apples

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Good for You-Naturally!™ Caramel Apples

‘Tis the season. Apples and pumpkins are 2 of my favorite fall crops. Raw pumpkin is yet to be tried here, but we love Good for You-Naturally!™ Pumpkin Bars, Pumpkin Muffins, and of course, Pumpkin Pie.

When it comes to apples, we never run out of ways to serve them – from fresh apple juice to apple crisp, and of course, apple pie. For a very special treat, there’s Caramel Apples. Very special, but still very Good for You-Naturally!™

Good for You-Naturally!™ Caramel Dip
for Apples and other Sweet Treats

  • 10 fat and juicy, organic medjool dates

Soak in distilled/purified water to cover. (At least 1/2 – 1 hour.)
Drain – but save soak water.
Add to dates:

  • 1-2 Tbl. soak water
  • 2 Tbl. raw, organic extra virgin coconut oil
  • 2 Tbl. raw honey [or real maple syrup]
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp. pure real vanilla flavoring

Blend all in a food processor (or high performance blender) until smooth. Add enough soak water to make it nice and creamy.

Serve with crisp organic apple slices.

Yummy!

GOCO Salve

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OK, this is really called GOOT* but in my book/house it is GOCO and it is good for what ails you. It has all the great health benefits of its ingredients – garlic, olive oil and VCO (organic extra virgin coconut oil). It is anti-infective, anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-fungal, anti-all those bad microbial things. 🙂

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GOCO Salve - good for what ails you

GOCO Salve – good for what ails you

Basically it is equal amounts of the 3 ingredients, blended together in your blender/food processor. Rub it on chests, feet, sinuses, in noses, in ears. Great for colds, flu, athlete’s feet,  – “whatever ails you”!

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The recipe is 3 Tbl. of each. Melt your VCO. Blend your garlic with the oils – blend it up good. Put it in a jar.

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Here’s how I did it:

GOCO Salve

Measure 3 Tbl. VCO into a small glass jar with a wide mouth. (Thanks Angie for the baby food jars! They are coming in handy.)

Pour very hot water into a small bowl. Set jar of VCO in the bowl of hot water to melt the VCO. NEVER microwave VCO.

Mince fresh garlic with garlic mincer/press. It’ll take approx. 3-4 heads to get 3 Tbl. I got about 1 Tbl. per head of garlic.

Put melted VCO, minced garlic, and 3 Tbl. olive oil into food processor (or blender.) (3 ingredients, 3 Tbl. each – easy to remember recipe!) Process until garlic is very fine, and mixed in.

Pour into small jar. Cap.

Let set out on the counter for a few hours – to really infuse those oils with the garlic. I then refrigerated it (as I think you’re suppose to). But I keep it out of the fridge when actively using it – fridge makes it TOO hard, IMO.

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More info at Jacque’s website, where I got the original recipe. [website no longer available] We’ve used fresh garlic, and garlic/olive oil for years, but are new to the addition of VCO and its great health benefits added to these. I’m glad to have this, but not hoping we get to try it out soon.

*Note: I haven’t figured out why it is called GOOT – Garlic, (Olive) Oil, (VC) Oil, ?? What am I missing here? Thus my name GOCO = Garlic – Olive – Coconut Oil.

More on Virgin Coconut Oil

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Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is the healthiest oil – not just for cooking, but for health in general. I posted on Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) a while back, and have more info on my Resources and Recommendations pages, BUT also promised to post more info on what all it is good for here.

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Organic VCO is great for all your cooking and baking. It is a healthy, Good for You-Naturally!™ oil with NO transfats. It is the best oil to use whenever you are going to heat/cook with oil. It doesn’t undergo any changes that other oils do at high heats. It can be substituted for other oils or butter both in recipes and on foods such as bread/sandwiches, potatoes or other vegetables. But it is also a great addition to recipes and foods that don’t need added oil. Add a couple tablespoons VCO to your Good for You-Naturally!™ fresh fruit smoothies or other foods such as (already cooked) oatmeal or other grains, other drinks, or even just in warm water. (“Raw” is the best way to use VCO.) About the only place you will not want to use VCO is in salad dressings, since it is solid at room temperature. Optimal is 2-3 tablespoons per day for its health benefits. (See some of our recipes with VCO here.)

For external use coconut oil is good as a relaxing massage oil, but also so much more! – for scars, stretch marks, insect bites, athletes feet/fungus, body odor, rough skin, baby rashes, skin irritations, eczema, dermatitus, dandruff, wrinkles, corns, calluses, stop bleeding, reduces fever, reduces acne, improves digestion and aids in the absorption of nutrients including essential minerals (such as calcium,) is a great detoxifier, strengthens the immune system and increases metabolism. It is a great moisturizer and hair conditioner. Besides EFA’s (essential fatty acids,) VCO is high in vitamin E/anti-oxidents and is anti-fungal/microbial. [Scientific studies have proven that VCO’s major component, lauric acid, is an effective “anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal compound,”] (See The Virgin Coconut Oil website for one source of more info on VCO.)

“A statement released from the health experts and authorities in the coconut industry of the Philippines said, “While there is no direct proof available for the efficacy of the VCO against the H1N1 virus, scientific studies have proven that VCO’s major component, lauric acid, is an effective “anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal compound.” source and more info

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Although Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is an AWESOME oil, it is not a magic pill. Don’t expect overnight miracle results – especially if you are living in a way that is detrimental to your health. Use VCO as a part of a Good for You-Naturally!™ lifestyle of health.

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Books on Virgin Coconut Oil that may be helpful – but I haven’t read them yet.

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Another website with info on VCO – I’ve only read this page so far, so can’t vouch for the rest of the site.

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Order VCO on this page.

Carmel Corn – Friday Food

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fridayfood2.jpgAnother snack recipe this week. This is a Good for You-Naturally!™ Carmel Corn that you can also make popcorn balls out of.

Pop 1/2 c. popping corn. (Stove or air popper, plain popcorn, not micro-wave.) Put in large bowl, and set aside while you make the carmel.

Bring to a boil (on the stove):

1/2 cup raw, organic coconut oil or real, unsalted organic butter

3/4 c. raw honey

Boil 5-6 minutes (until soft ball stage, if you have a candy thermometer).

Take off heat stir in 1/2 tsp. baking soda.

Stir real well. It will foam up and change color. Pour over popped corn and stir well to coat evenly.

Spread out in jelly roll pan (I use large stoneware bar pan).

Bake at 250-275° for somewhere around 15-20 minutes stirring every (approx.) 5 minutes.

Stir as it cools, or form into balls as soon as it is cool enough to handle but still warm enough to stick together.

Yum, Yum! Sweet treat that’s still Good for You-Naturally!™. Just one of the many snacks you’ll find in Good for You-Naturally!™ Simply Snacks recipe book.

Crazy Cake – Friday Food

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fridayfood2.jpgThis is a very moist – no frosting needed – Good for You-Naturally!™ cake that can be made for a quick dessert or snack. It has many variations (see Good for You-Naturally!™ Simply Snacks recipe book). Today I’m sharing the one we had this week.

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Lisa’s Good for You-Naturally!™ Oatmeal Spice Crazy Cake

  • 1 c. fresh ground, organic whole wheat pastry flour (you can use regular whole wheat – and sift out the bran, if you want, or leave it in)
  • 1 c. organic rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder (non-aluminum, such as Rumford’s)
  • 1 tsp. organic ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. organic ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. organic ground allspice

Mix together well in an 8-9″ square or round stainless steel or glass cake pan.

Make a depression in the center of these dry ingredients, and pour in:

  • 1 cup hot purified water
  • 1/3 cup raw, organic coconut oil (melt it in the hot water first)
  • 1/3 cup raw honey
  • 1 tsp. raw organic apple cider vinegar

Mix these liquid ingredients all together well (in the depression you made) before combining with the dry ingredients. (Of course, you can dirty up a mixing bowl instead if you want.)

Mix liquid and dry ingredients together well. Be sure to get all dry ingredients from sides and bottom of pan, and consistency is even throughout.

Bake at 350° for approx. 25-30 minutes.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good.”