Make Healthier Choices

Helping people Make Healthier Choices about real-food choices for optimal heath.

Recipes

Jo-Anne’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

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This recipe uses half the sugar and butter that most chocolate chip cookie recipes use and are just as delicious.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

Jo-Anne's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
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Ingredients
  • 2¼ Cups Jovial's Einkorn Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 Teaspoon Himalayan or Celtic Salt
  • ½ Cup (1 stick) Softened Butter
  • ½ Cup Demerera Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1 to 2 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • OPTIONAL: 1 cup chopped nuts
Instructions
  1. Remove butter from refrigerator to soften. (You may want to take this out about an hour or so before you intend to make these.)
  2. Pre-heat oven to 375° F.
  3. In small bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  4. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.
  5. Mix in vanilla.
  6. Mix in 1 egg at a time.
  7. Mix in flour mixture.
  8. Mix in chocolate chips.
  9. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet using #1 ice cream scoop (1 ounce) or spoon.
  10. Bake at 375° F for 10 to 11 minutes or until cooked.
  11. Leave on cookie sheet for 2 minutes.
  12. Transfer to cooling rack.

The reason this recipe uses 1/2 the butter as most chocolate chip cookie recipes is because less oil is necessary when using Jovial’s Einkorn Flour.

If you make your first purchase at Tropical Traditions using my affiliate link, you’ll receive a coconut book for free and I’ll receive a small discount coupon. Click the flour picture below to go to Tropical Traditions:

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Milk Kefir Bread – A Healthier Bread

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If you’re anything like me, you like to occasionally enjoy a nice slice of homemade bread, a cookie, or perhaps a cupcake–especially around the holidays. When I eat something that might not be the healthiest, I try to prepare it with real, wholesome ingredients thereby making it as healthy as possible.

Is Your Flour Made from a Mutant Wheat?

If you’ve read my article, Are You Still Eating Wheat? you probably already know why this bread is healthier than other breads. Not only does it contain einkorn flour (that isn’t a mutant wheat), it has milk kefir (or yogurt), a fermented milk, which acts as a preservative. This bread will stay fresh for longer than loaves made with just water or milk.

milk-kefir-bread-mhc-recipe-renegade

I Only Use Einkorn Wheat

Einkorn, is our oldest wheat and the only one left that has not been hybridized. Today, most wheat is sprayed with glyphosate before harvest. The wheat flour I’ve listed in my recipe from Amazon is tested for and does not contain glyphosate. It has a lower gliadin to glutenin ratio than modern wheat and can be tolerated by some who have gluten intolerance.

CAUTION: DO NOT eat this wheat or wheat bread, if a doctor has instructed you to avoid wheat or gluten!

Somehow, my recipe disappeared and I rewrote it today, May 6, 2025. Apologies if it isn’t exactly as it was before.

Milk Kefir Bread - A Healthier Bread
 
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Recipe type: Milk Kefir Bread
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Add wet ingredients - milk kefir (or yogurt/water) and olive oil to bread machine pan.
  2. Add dry ingredients - Einkorn flour, evaporated cane juice, sea salt, yeast.
  3. Lock pan into machine.
  4. Set machine to 1⅕ lb, Basic, and Light or Medium (whichever is your preference)
  5. Press: START
  6. Enjoy a slice of warm, delicious bread!
Notes
*If using milk instead of milk kefir, or yogurt and water increase the yeast to 2 heaping teaspoons.

Be sure to follow the instructions for your particular bread machine.

 

Did I mention that I LOVE my Westbend bread machine from the 1990’s? If I didn’t have my vintage bread maker, I’d save up for this one:

Zojirushi BB-PDC20BA Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker, 2 lb. loaf of bread, Stainless Steel/Black

 

If you love rye, check out my article, Is it True This Can Reverse Diabetes? and recipe for Rye Bread.

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Homemade Sausage

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Do You Eat Pork?

I don’t eat a lot of pork—an occasional bacon for breakfast, maybe a ham for Easter and sometimes home made pork sausage. I only buy local pork and try to keep it to a minimum. Like Dr. Axe says: You eat pork; you have parasites. I don’t worry much about parasites; I fuel my body with no less than a couple handfuls of moringa oleifera every day. Moringa oleifera is said to be anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral.

Sausage and French Toast on Rye Round MHC RR
Sausage with Rye French Toast and Fresh Orange Slices

It doesn’t have to be Pork Sausage; Beef Sausage works, too!

I realized if I wanted to avoid pork, I’d have to find another way to make sausage. I was pleasantly surprised when I deviated from pork in this recipe. The first time I made it, I only used half a pound of beef for fear of ruining the entire pound—it was delicious! I’ve not yet tried this recipe with ground chicken or ground turkey, but I’m guessing the ground fennel might need to be replaced with ground rosemary. But that’s only a guess. When I’ve had a chance to make these with poultry, I’ll update this page.

Sausage
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 Pound Grass-Fed Ground Beef (or Ground Pork)
  • ½ Teaspoon Himalayan Salt
  • ½ Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
  • ½ Teaspoon Thyme
  • 1 Teaspoon Sage
  • 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1Teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 2 Teaspoons Ground Fennel
  • 2 Teaspoons Demerara or Evaporated Cane Juice/Sugar or ¼ Teaspoon Stevia
    • Instructions
    1. Mix all ingredients in stand mixer until well blended.
  • Divide into 6 or 8 sections and make patties. (I use an old-fashioned ice-cream scoop to measure and flatten with a spatula or with clean hands.)
  • Cook in cast iron pan on medium heat for approximately 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until completely cooked through to middle. The thicker the patty, the longer it will take to cook.

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    Easy Cauliflower Pizza Crust

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    Gluten-Free Cauliflower Pizza Crust

    Cauliflower Crust Recipe Renegade

    Cauliflower Pizza Crust – the Hard Way

    The first time I made cauliflower pizza crust, it took me FOREVER! All my counters were covered with dirty dishes–what a mess! It was a LOT of work, but I’ll admit–it was delicious!

    I won’t eat any supermarket vegetables that haven’t first been washed. So after washing the cauliflower: I steamed it on the stove top, cooled it, pulverized it in my food processor, emptied it into a dish/tea towel, squeezed the heck out of it, put it in a bowl, mixed in other ingredients, spread it onto a pan, baked it, flipped it, baked it again, then made it into pizza and baked it again. Aren’t you tired just reading about it???

    Skip the Tough Steps

    Being able to skip the squeeze-the-heck-out-of-it step, pulverizing in the food processor, and baking instead of steaming all helped save me a LOT of time. Not only are steps skipped, but not having to wash extra pots/pans, etc. saved time. And I have to admit I hated all that nutritious juice going down the drain. If you enjoy a gluten-free lifestyle, but have not yet tried cauliflower pizza crust trust me, it’s worth it! But try it the easier way . . . use a juicer.

    Cauliflower Pizza Crust – the Easier Way

    If you have a juicer, you’ll find this pizza crust easy to make. I have an Omega NC800HDS (you can see it in action on my You Tube channel), but any juicer will work. Cauliflower juice isn’t exactly my favorite, but you’ll probably want to save the juice. I usually juice a couple of carrots and an apple to go with a small amount of cauliflower juice.

    Easy Cauliflower Pizza
     
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    Ingredients
    Instructions
    1. Pre-heat oven to 425° F
    2. Remove cauliflower core, cut florets off stem and wash.
    3. Juice cauliflower; set juice aside to drink later.
    4. Place pulp on jelly pan (or cookie sheet).
    5. Bake pulp for 12 minutes.
    6. Remove pulp and let cool for about 5 minutes.
      While cauliflower is cooling:
    7. Place eggs in medium-sized bowl and slightly beat.
    8. Add Italian seasoning.
    9. Once cauliflower pulp has cooled to touch, add to bowl; mix together.
    10. Spread mixture onto silicone-lined jelly pan (or parchment-paper lined jelly pan).
    11. Bake at 425° for 8 minutes.
    12. Flip (I do this by placing silicone mat (or parchment paper) and second jelly pan on top and CAREFULLY and quickly flipping.)
    13. Bake for additional 8 minutes.

      Go here for: Cauliflower Pizza
    Notes
    Cheese is one of the ingredients in the first recipe I tried. I don't personally use cheese in my crust; I think cheese makes the crust tend to stick to the parchment paper/silicone liner making it easier to flip.

    These crusts freeze nicely. I’ve even frozen the pulp in a vacuum-seal bag. I like to make make it worth dirtying my juicer, so I make three or four at a time and freeze them. I roll mine in waxed paper (parchment paper would also work) and place into a (2.5 gallon) extra-large plastic bag. I allow them to thaw before flattening onto a jelly pan.

    Cauliflower Mushroom Pizza MHC RR

     

     

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    Cauliflower Pizza

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    Gluten-Free Cauliflower Pizza

    Cauliflower Mushroom Pizza MHC RR

     

    Cauliflower Pizza
     
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    Ingredients
    • One Cauliflower Pizza Crust
    • 15 Oz. of Your favorite Tomato Sauce
    • ¾ to 1½ Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
    • ¾ to 1½ Cups Shredded Mozarella Cheese
    • Your Favorite Pizza Toppings
    Instructions
    1. Top Cauliflower Pizza Crust with tomato sauce, cheese and your favorite toppings.
    2. Bake on jelly pan at 450° F for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
    Notes
    I topped my pizza with diced onions, pre-cooked sliced mushrooms and basil. It was delicious!

    Find my Cauliflower Pizza Crust here:

    Cauliflower Pizza Crust

     


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    Pumpkin Dog Bones (Biscuits)

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    Rey-Rey’s Favorite Gluten-Free Dog Bones

    Pumpkin Dog Bones Recipe Renegade

    It would surprise me if your dog didn’t like these dog bones. My picky dog loves these nutritious treats. I feed nothing to my dog that I wouldn’t eat myself. Because I don’t eat propylene glycol, caramel color, or sodium nitrate—common ingredients found in many dog treats—I make my own. Weighing in at less than ten pounds, means I can afford to give her real food like: pumpkin; chicken; beef; carrots; green beans; sweet potatoes; valencia peanut butter; and Zija’s Supermix (moringa oleifera). I expect my veterinarian bills to be less, especially for her teeth. Dr. Weston Price traveled the world to learn what causes cavities; he found nutritional deficiencies to be the culprit (not bacteria).

    All Real Food

    These dog treats contain both nutritional yeast and brewer’s yeast. My father always gave our family dog brewer’s yeast to keep fleas away. I’ll assume it’s true, because I never saw one flea on that dog.

    This recipe also contains garlic or onion powder. According to Dogs Naturally magazine, onions and garlic are okay in small amounts. In fact, a veterinarian told me the only real thing I need to worry about is Xylitol, which will quickly kill a dog. I’m also not so sure Xylitol is good for humans, either. Read more about Xylitol here: Xylitol.

    Pumpkin Dog Bones
     
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    Ingredients
    Instructions
    1. Add all dry ingredients to mixing bowl (stand mixer works great)
    2. Mix thoroughly.
    3. Add pumpkin and egg.
    4. Mix.
    5. Add only enough liquid to make into a ball.
    6. Roll out onto floured pastry board.
    7. Use cookie cutter to cut into dog bones or cut into squares.
    8. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.
    9. Flip bones over and bake for 25 more minutes.
    10. Reduce oven to 175° and bake for 6 to 8 hours or dry in a dehydrator overnight at 155° or until completely dry.
    11. Bake/dehydrate longer if necessary making certain bones are completely dry. (Moisture left in bones will cause them to spoil quicker.)
    12. Store in airtight container.
    Notes
    If you don't feel comfortable with the garlic or onion powder, it's okay to omit.
    QUICKER-An even quicker way to make these is to roll out onto parchment paper and cut into small pieces after transferring paper/dough to jelly pan. It's not necessary to cut all the way through; they'll break apart easily.

    Please Be Sure To Properly Dehydrate

    As with any dry dog treat, beware that they can be a choking hazard, especially if they are too large. Please give them small, bite-size pieces appropriate for your size dog.

    Did you know you can get a dog bone cookie cutter with your dog’s name personalized on it? Personalized Dog Bone Cookie Cutter.

    When I don’t have time to make these, I purchase made-in-New-Hampshire Casey Jones Bones. In my local area they sell for about $5.99/box.

    Source: How To Detox Your Dog

     

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