Decadently Diet Dessert Recipes for Summer Picnics, Parties, Holidays

Yep, you read that correctly. Decadent and diet dessert recipes for summer. And no, they're not just fruit. Although fruit is a yummy healthy treat any time. These desserts feature food swaps from refined sugar and flour and high saturated/transfat, to low calorie, healthy fatty acids, whole grain flour and natural sweeteners. Serve at graduation open houses, wedding receptions, bridal and baby showers, BBQs, holiday entertaining, beach bashes and backyard cookouts. You can have 2-die-4 and 2-diet-for in the same dessert. Decadently Diet Dessert Recipes for Summer Picnics, Parties, Holidays

Back to School Breakfast Smoothies and Shake Recipes

Back to School Quick, Healthy Breakfast Smoothies and Shakes Back-to-school means that many families must rethink their meal schedules. Many students need to up and out the door so early that there's little time for breakfast. Here are super fast healthy breakfast blender smoothie recipes. Read More

Mincemeat Pie Recipe: Vegan, Vegetarian Alternatives

Mincemeat pie is the quintessential traditional Thanksgiving pie. Mincemeat pie is a love it or hate it dessert. If you love mincemeat like we do, you probably know that it is expensive. Here's an easy recipe for homemade mincemeat pie filling.

  Mincemeat pie is named so, because traditionally mincemeat contains stewed, shredded beef. Mincemeat developed in the middle ages as a way to preserve meats and prevent them from spoiling. Similar to smoking meat, pickling it in a brine, like herring or corned beef or salting it away like salt pork, beef cooked in stewed fruits and spices could be stored for a time also. The cooked fruits formed a sort of brine for the beef. When the mincemeat filling was baked into a pie, the pie was a dinner pie, such as steak and kidney pie or the more modern pot pie. Mincemeat pie was the entree.

  My original recipe called for a pound of stew beef stew meat to be cooked with the fruit and spices. For reasons of taste and for vegetarians and vegan diners, I've omitted the stewed meat from the recipe. If you've a yen for a good old medieval dish, add a pound of stewed beef to your recipe. I have done this in our homeschool when we were studying medieval Europe. But for the rest of us, here's the modified fruit only version.

  Nine cups cooking apples, peeled, cored and quartered (Macintosh, Jonathan, Ida Red, Jonamac, Granny Smith apple varieties make the best cooking apple; my personal favorite being the wonderful Macintosh from my home state of Michigan.)

  4 ounces avocado oil or ghee

  2 1/2 cups of sugar (I like Florida Crystals)

  2 1/2 cups of water

  15 ounce package raisins

  1/4 cup molasses

  2 cups dried currants (available near the packaged raisins; Sun-Maid makes packaged currants)

  1/2 cups chopped or diced candied fruits with peels, also known as citron; these are the same candied fruits used in holiday fruitcake (available seasonally in most grocery stores).

  1 teaspoon each shredded orange peel and lemon peel

  1 cup orange juice

  1/2 cup lemon juice

  1 teaspoon salt

  1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

  1/4 teaspoon mace

  In food processor, grind apples and oil. Place all ingredients, including apple-suet mixture in a large kettle. Cover, simmer for forty-five minutes, stirring frequently. This recipe makes enough for 2 nine inch pies. Use four cups per pie. Bake with a double crust pie. If you are using frozen pie crusts, use two crusts, fill one and use the other on top.

4th of July Picnic Appetizers

Festive 4th of July Appetizer Recipes
The 4th of July is probably the single largest picnic day in the year. July is National Picnic Month. If your 4th of July celebration will include a picnic of buffet, here are appetizer and finger food recipes for your table.
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