One of the most frequently asked question that I hear from many of you through emails is, “Laura, do you think you could come up with a healthier version of _______?”
It would appear that you have become aware of how much I get a kick out of experimenting and coming up with new, healthy recipes in my “spare time”! Yes it’s true. I love playing with ingredients.
Your past requests and challenges have resulted in fun new recipes for Poptarts, Pancake Sausage Muffins, Chewy Granola Bars, Corndog Muffins, Hot Dog Buns, Dressing Mixes, Taco Seasoning, Funnel Cakes, and many other cool recipe ideas that were inspired by YOU. I love taking family favorite ideas that may normally be unhealthy (like a poptart), and fiddling with the idea until I come up with a recipe that pleases the fam and is healthy(er) too! (It never hurts when the recipe is easy to make and saves money too, huh?)
Each time one of you sends in a recipe challenge or an idea, I add it to my list of foods to experiment with. You all come up with so many great ideas!! Yeah, that’s my way of saying…wow my list is really long.
I decided that it would be fun during 2011 to share part of my list with you and have you offer input for your top choices of recipes for me to try. Then all during this year, I’ll play with ingredients and get lots of honey and tomato paste and butter on my face (though not all at the same time) as I experiment to come up with some new favorite recipes to share.
Here is my list of items you’ve requested for me to come up with a “Healthier Version” of:
- Tater Tots
- Twinkies
- Ketchup
- Mayonnaise
- Corn Tortillas
- White Chocolate Baking Chips and Butterscotch Baking Chips (like these Homemade Chocolate Chips, only white chocolate or butterscotch)
- Fig Newtons
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Ritz Crackers
- Onion Soup Mix
- Bleu Cheese Dressing
- Cereal Bars
- Angel Food Cake
- White Cake (which we’ve already discussed that if using whole wheat flour and sucanat, this cake would really be tan…)
- Chocolate Milk
I’m sure I’ve forgotten some of the requests that you’ve sent in, so please feel free to add those ideas if you’d like. And now…I’d appreciate it if you’d all leave a comment letting me know your top two or three recipe choices from the list above so that I know where I should start with this challenge!
And now, if you’ll pardon me…I’m going to go put on my apron and start grinding some flour. Let the Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Challenge begin!
Here’s my top 3.
1 – ketchup
2 -onion soup mix
3 – Teriyaki sauce
You’re a gem, Laura! :-)
My top 3:
1. Twinkies (my son’s request)
2. Ketchup
3. Ritz crackers
Can’t wait for the recipes!
tator tots are easy.. I made low carb tator tots with cauliflower YEARS ago. But for the life of me i wouldnt be able to tell you how..
Wow – THAT sounds good. I would love that recipe!
Twinkies
Ritz crackers
onion soup mix.
while I know it’s not really a recipe but plain yogurt is a great alternative to mayo and healthier
Cereal Bars
Ketchup
Onion Soup Mix
Twinkies
Ritz crackers
Fig Newtons
Happy baking!!
A friend of mine gave me this recipe to make chocolate milk with our raw milk we drink. This is for 1 gallon of milk (with a cup or 2 removed to make room for the “syrup”)
3/4 – 1 cup Maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
dash or 2 of salt
Mix these ingredients together (well) to form a syrup, then add to the gallon of milk. You will need to shake it up each time you want to serve it as the chocolate settles at the bottom. My children (5&3) can not tell the difference.
Many thanks for the recipe! I’m going to try it out! I need to move away from
giving my girls processed chocolate milk!
Ketchup
Baking chips (but add peanut butter chips to your list)
Chocolate milk (but, again, add strawberry to your list)
Does this really count as five with my additions? Hmmm. Thanks
Onion soup mix for sure. Haven’t found a good homemade recipe that doesn’t include beef bullion which has that nasty MSG! Thanks!
1. Fig newtons
2. Cereal bars
3. Cinnamon baking chips
How fun! I can’t wait to see what all you come up with!
My top 3…
Ritz Crackers
Corn Tortillas
Tater Tots
I can’t wait to see what you come up with…
Ketchup
Fig Newtons
Teryaki Sauce
Mayonnaise is so simple and easy to make, I’ve been making my own for years. When I learned about traditional foods I switched to using pastured eggs, raw vinegar and safflower oil. My husband loves it and every complements me on my chicken salad when I use my mayonnaise.
1. Cereal Bars
2. Corn Tortillas
3. Tator Tots
Can’t wait to see the new recipes!
1. Chocolate Milk!
2. Chocolate Milk!
3. Chocolate Milk!
I drink this every morning and have been trying to figure out a healthier version. I know there are some healthy alternatives, but they seem to be very expensive.
So glad you like to experiment!
My vote is for Ritz crackers, mayo and tater tots. :)
I love this idea. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
I vote:
Chocolate Milk
ketchup
Cereal Bars
1. choc. milk
2. onion soup mix
2. cereal bars
I make my own ketchup and love it! Here’s a post about it. http://mamabeefromthehive.blogspot.com/2010/07/canning-homemade-ketchup.html
Chocolate Milk
Fig Newtons
I’d be interested in a recipe for breakfast biscuits using bacon and cheese that freeze well when made in bulk.
1) teriyaki sauce
2) onion soup mix
3) cinnamon baking chips
I’d also be interested in a healthful version of strawberry lemonade. My family enjoys that in the summertime, but I’m sure there must be a way to make it that is better than my current recipe.
Thanks! I’m looking forward to reading about your results.
You might start at this site with the Fig Newton attempt (http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/making-fig-newtons-with-mrs-bennett/). Suzanne has a fabulous blog as well and, like you, attempted a Fig Newton recipe from an old recipe she found. I imagine some whole wheat and Tropical Traditions shortening would make her version healthier…just a thought. :)
I would want to see ketchup as an absolute must for my kids (I can’t stand it), onion soup mix (I used to use it for roasts & oven baked potatoes), and Ritz crackers.
If I could add anything to the list it would be mac and cheese, and cream of onion soup (this is great for roast in the over and broccoli, chicken rice). Thanks Laura.
She has an amazing recipe on her blog for mac n cheese, my kids LOVE it!
https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/high-five-recipe-creamy-mac-and-cheese :)
Thanks for some reason when I looked through the recipe indexes I completely missed this. I’ll just blame it on mommy brain. Thanks.
Jess – I stumbled across a recipe for Cream of “Anything” soup mix the
other day. I mixed some up and it works GREAT in recipes. Use the mix
as a base and just add onion, mushroom, celery, “anything” as you heat it
Use 1/3 cup mix to 1 cup water:
4 c. powdered milk
1 1/2 c. cornstarch
1/2 c. instant chicken bouillon granules (we crushed 24 cubes)
4 tsp. dried onion flakes
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp basil – crushed dried
1 tsp. pepper
Heat over medium low heat.
(I know, I know – bouillon/msg = awful…but I haven’t found a replacement
yet!)
Bouillon is just solid chicken/beef broth. Substitute chicken stock.
Solid=powdered
1. Chocolate milk
2. Ketchup and please please please: chili sauce?! (like Heinz brand, it seems to have a ketchup base!)
Thanks!
not that these all go together:)…but my choices would be:
corn tortillas
onion soup mix
tater tots
Thanks!
Corn tortillas, corn tortillas and onion soup mix…
I have been working on onion soup mix since they are hard to find without gluten or MSG. We should talk.
Yes, I listed the corn tortillas twice. On purpose. We live on these some weeks.
Mustard!!!
I tried making Nourishing Traditions mustard this week and it was really easy to make…however, it turned out incredibly spicy!!! Don’t get me wrong, I love mustard with a kick…but this stuff tasted an awful lot like horseradish! Help! Please! Help me fix it (I made a whole quart of it)! And help me make it better next time. Please!!!!!!
Just let it sit longer. It gets milder over time. It might take weeks. Just be patient.
At room temperature or in the fridge? I did the 3 days at room
temp per Nourishing Traditions and then transfered to the fridge.
Should I pull it out again? Thanks!
How fun!
1. ketchup
2. Teriyaki sauce
3. onion soup mix
Thank you.
I have got to try making some homemade fig newtons I love those things but won’t buy them because of the yucky ingredients. How about deer jerky?
Cereal bars, corn tortillas, Angel food cake that would be awesome.
Would love to see:
1. Chocolate Milk
2. Fig Newtons
3. Tator Tots
Thank you for taking the time to experiment for all of us!
Cereal bars, ketchup, Ritz crackers
Ritz, Teriyaki and fig newtons!
I have a recipe for onion soup mix!
1- chocolate milk
2 – ritz crackers
3 – tater tots
Chocolate Milk!
Chocolate Milk!
Chocolate Milk!
Your blog is amazing, thank you!
1. Onion soup mix
2. Ketchup
3. Ritz crackers
Thanks!!
I do make my own teriakyi sauce. Very easy. Soy sauce, ketchup (organic non high fructose)chopped garlic, lemon juice salt and pepper.
I do like a good ritz..so that is my vote.
1. cereal bars
2. tater tots
3. baking chips
They are sound like great ideas though, so I will be excited for whichever recipes are chosen. Thanks so much for keeping us all well fed and entertained! I have appreciated so so many of your recipes and ideas.
Chocolate milk, onion soup mix, and fig bars. Thanks for all you do :)
Ketchup!
Teriyaki Sauce
Tater Tots
Have I mentioned lately that YOU ROCK?
This is awesome!
My friend just learned she can make her own corn meal by grinding her popcorn kernals. The red, blue, purple kernals have far more nutritional value than reg. yellow/white corn. However, this would make for some interesting corn bread and tortillas..lol
1. Tater tots
2. Teriyaki sauce (gluten free)
3. onion soup mix
as a side bar, I’m hoping you’ll include how to
substitute the boullion. (gluten free)
corn tortillas and chocolate milk! I can’t think of a way to have chocolate milk when you mix the chocolate so that it dissolves and won’t be all chunky since it’s cold. Oh, and my “corn tortillas” I make are flour ones that I roll out in cornmeal. Kinda make them half and half but at least i get a little corn taste! Thanks!
Oooh, this is so fun!
Onion Soup Mix-SO great to cook with.
Mayonnaise (not a recipe where you have to use uncooked eggs)
Twinkies (just because!)
Haven’t commented in a long time, but I still enjoy your blog regularly, and have even “introduced” a couple fellow Bangkok expats to you!
My top three would be:
corn tortilla’s
Ketchup
Teryaki Sauce
Thanks! And anything gluten free is always great! :)
Not to be cheeky by introducing something new, but I’d love to see a whole wheat pierogi recipe. It seems like it would be so simple, but googling brought forth almost nothing. Otherwise, I vote for mayonnaise and corn tortillas. Thanks. :)
1. Tater tots
2. Baking chips
3. Teriyaki sauce
That would be great! Thanks!
Ketchup
Mayo
Bleu Cheese
(I have to admit, I hate to limit it to only 3, so would be very happy for anything you come up with!)
1. Tater tots
2. Teryaki sauce
3. Blue cheese dressing
Twinkies
Ketchup
Corn Tortillas
Ketchup, PLEASE! I’ve been looking for a good recipe and just can’t find one that we like.
Tater tots and bleu cheese dressing!
Ritz Crackers and Cereal Bars.
Fig Newtons and Butterscotch chips…hoorah!
We dont buy any of those things you mentioned other than ketchup, our kids have never had them and dont know what they are missing!
So instead of asking you to change a recipe I wanted to send you one that our family loves and I think you might enjoy
BAKED OATMEAL
2 cups large flake oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1 cup spelt (the flakes not the flour – or you can make this another cup of oats instead)
1/4 cup organic evaporated cane juice (or less)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1-2 tsp ground flax
When ready to make, combine wet ingredients in a bowl:
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 tsp vanilla
1Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup milk
1/8 cup oil
Mix in dry ingredients and pour into greased casserole dish. bake at 350 for 40 minutes
Top with apples and cinn before you bake or with blueberries when out of the oven or really whatever other fruit you want!
All would be great, but I really need some good ketchup or even better bar bq sauce. Ritz crackers sound good and my household just ran out of chocolate quik and I refuse to buy anymore. We do hot chocolate right now, but this summer they will be begging for chocolate milk. We love all your recipes, now my husband gets on your site and makes copies of recipes he wants me to make. If I give him a look, he says “Laura’s recipe”. Then I smile and say “well then it must be good”
BBQ Sauce: https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/high-five-recipes-homemade-barbeque-sauce
Although, it does have ketchup in the recipe…which I just use an organic version of right now. IF I ever come up with a ketcup recipe to go in it, that would make this all the better! :)
I’ve made a homemade cherry BBQ sauce and we love it!
http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/09/cherry-bbq-sauce.html
Cereal Bars.
My husband likes to bring them to work for breakfast.
Newton Cookies. I’m not a big fan of fig, but I’d like to see it with strawberry or raspberry filling…
In making a white cake – you might try the chiffon method for making it light and airy with whole grains.
The tater tots sound intriguing. In fact, there is another blog I look at that shared a recipe for homemade tater tots. Might want to check it out in your quest for a new version!!
http://www.joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com
And cinnamon baking chips…YUM!!! They would be great in cinnamon chip bread! Mmmm…
I vote for corn tortillas (thinner is better in our house). I’ll be working on them this year, too. And, fig newtons. I like the idea of making these for our lo when he is a little older.
Sounds like a fun challenge! I can’t wait to see your results over the new year.
I would like to see corn tortillas and ritz crackers. I’ve had a hard time finding a healthy cracker. Fig newtons are a favorite of mine also. Thanks Laura, can’t wait to see the results.
Ritz crackers would be a great recipe to have! We eat tons of them around here, we never have saltines. Whenever I’ve tried to look up recipes online, I’ve always just come up with recipes that USE Ritz crackers. I hope you can figure this one out soon!
Butterscotch chips and ketchup would also be good. I’ve tried to make ketchup before but have never had success, so I’ll defer to your expertise.
I have great recipes for mayo and chocolate syrup (for chocolate milk). I also have a really, really good powder chocolate recipe.
I have not bought chocolate syrup or mayo in a very long time. I can send them to you if you want.
I would like you recipe for mayo–I haven’t found a really good one yet! Chocolate syrup would be good too….please share!!
I would love those recipes too! we love chocolate milk but hate that most have high fructose corn syrup!
Me too, just post them…pleaseeeee
I will post the chocolate syrup and mayo a little later. The chocolate powder comes from “Miserly Moms”.
Chocolate Drink Mix (works well for hot chocolate too!)
2 cups nonfat dry milk powder (if using water)
3/4 cup sucanat
1/2 cup cocoa powder
dash salt
Put these ingredients in a blender and blend until fine. It will help in the stirring and prevent lumps. Store in an airtight container.
If you plan to mix this with milk then I would omit the nonfat milk powder. Then add to hot or cold milk (I have used soy milk as well with no problems) to taste.
OK – Here is the chocolate syrup recipe. The general recipe comes from “Miserly Moms” cookbook which has been my saving grace for mixes and some recipes. I am not affiliated in any way with them just love the book. Anyway –
1C of unsweetened cocoa
2C of sugar / sucanat
1 1/4 C water
1t salt
1T vanilla
Mix sugar, salt and cocoa together until there are no lumps. Put in saucepan and add water. Put on medium heat and stir constantly. Heat until the sugar is disolved (until the foam is almost gone). Set aside and let cool. Once cool stir in vanilla. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Pour in glass jar and keep in the fridge. The sauce will be a bit thicker than hershy syrup but the flavor is about a million times better. The syrup is excellent over ice cream as well.
Enjoy!
I’d really like a recipe for ketchup that uses only honey as the sweetener. And the corn tortillas would be fun to try too.
Thank you for asking:)
I love my homemade ketchup recipe, I will dig it out and share it with you next time I comment. I would love to See fig newtons, ( I eat grain free for now, and found an almond flour version of fig newtons on Elana’s pantry blog. she said that her husband can’t tell the difference, so maybe you could build on her recipe!) My kids would like ones from fresh ground flour, and almond flour is pricey! I would love to make my own tater tots, and the cinnamon chips sound awesome. King Aurthur flour sells commercial cinnamon chips, that is the first I had heard of them!
By the way You are great! I love your blog!
For white cake sheck out healthyindugences.com she makes a white cake with no flour and uses white beans–sounds gross right!! But not a single member of my bean hating family said a word and ate the entire cake…8in round…just be sure to follow her directions about letting it sit in the fridge overnight and it is moist and delicious and white(she uses xylitol a lot but I found using OG evaporated cane juice in equal amounts to the other sweeteners worked just fine..lots of protein and fiber in that cake!! Also for Blue cheese dressing–I just add less liquid to your ranch dressing recipe(or add a little sour cream–Nancy’s from Azure as it has live cultures)and add blue cheese crumbles–so good! And for Ritz cracker–you gave away an ebook from kitchen stewardship and her cracker recipe is not only very healthy–but amazing–I am REQUIRED to bring them to family gatherings…or else!!
Corn tortillas, ketchup, and mayo, but not all together ;-)
Ritz crackers and mayo for sure, we use a lot of those two items.
I would LOVE the ritz crackers. Did you know that ritz have HFCS in them? So sad because we love them so much.
Onion soup mix and tater tots!
Onion Soup Mix, PLEASE! I live in Indonesia and can’t get the packets here, but they are my ‘when I’m too tired to really cook’ seasoning. Besides, if they are healthier, I would probably just keep making my own if/when we ever move back to the states :D
cereal bars, tater tots, & ketchup
One of my other favorite blogs (besides your’s of course) is Home Joys. She is wonderful and she has a homemade ketchup that I am going to try next tomato season:
http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2010/10/homemade-ketchup.html
Ritz crackers and fig newtons! I’ve looked for recipes for fig newtons, and they’re all too labor intensive, maybe you can make it somewhat simpler too? :-) Trader Joes makes fig cereal bars that taste a lot like fig newtons, so I think it would be possible to adapt a recipe from cereal bars to fig newtons or vice versa perhaps?
Tater Tots, Ritz Crackers, and Teriyaki sauce!
Onion soup mix and butterscotch baking chips please, although any recipe you post I want to try! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for all of us!
I’m for Ritz crackers and Fig Newtons also. My husband and kids go through a box of Ritz crackers a week – way too much sodium and fat! A healthier version would be nice
I’ve been wanting a recipe for onion soup mix forever! And mayo would be great as well, preferably without raw eggs because I refuse to even chance raw eggs with my family.
Definitely Ritz crackers! I’ve tried many crackers recipes and haven’t found any I like.
I found a mayo recipe on tropical traditions website using coconut oil and evoo that is delicious. You might want to check that out.
As for tutorials, I’d love to see, and would most likely use, recipes for Ritz/Club crackers, ketchup (I have dabbled with this one too and found a recipe I loved but no one in my house loved along with me), and/or tater tots.
Thank you for asking and thanks for all of the time and information you’ve given us. I can’t speak for everyone, but I loge your blog and look for our updates every morning. You inspire me.
cereal bars and fig newtons YUM!
I am currently on a weight loss journey with a personal trainer in tow. I need to get more protein in and am having an extremely hard time finding a protein bar that does not have any artificial sugar, tons of processed ingredients and not a ton of grams of real sugar either.
How about a protein bar recipe for those of us in need??? Thank you! I love your website!!
oooh so many great choices…how to chooose?!?! i appreciate you doing all this work while raising your family! its a blessing for sure!
perhaps i’d have to vote for chocolate milk, cereal bars, and onion soup mix!
thanks again!
Chocolate Milk, fig newtons and cinnamon or butterscotch chips…
Really, any of them would be fine!!!
For Ketchup, Heinz makes a “Simply ketchup” that doesn’t have HFCS in it. That’s what we’ve been using. It’s not organic, but after reading the label it didn’t seem that bad…
Still, I’d love to see your recipe if you come up with one!
ewwww…twinkies….just eww! they aren’t that good in the first place, but if someone likes them and feels like they want to eat them because they taste good, what’s the point of healthifying it? nothing will compare flavorwise to all the junk they put in those. just my two cents
How about mint oreos? LOL
I’d vote for the Ritz crackers!
WAIT – Your poptart recipe makes great fig newtons!! We make the poptart ‘crust’ but roll it out in a very long rectangle, then fill it with fig preserves (we make our own). Fold the crust over lengthwise and crimp the one long edge. It bakes up softer if you leave it as the long tube. Then use a pizza cutter (or knife) to cut into newton shapes once it is cool. YUM!!
(As a side note – your filling for cinnamon swirl bread makes great a great filling for cinnamon poptarts, too!!)
I vote for Ritz crackers, cereal bars and onion soup mix please!
I vote for the cinnamon and butterscotch baking chips. Between the high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, and the fact that I’m allergic to all cinnamon except Ceylon I haven’t been able to find chips that I can use. For the person who mentioned mint Oreos, King Arthur Flour has a recipe that uses white whole wheat flour and I’ve made it several times, you might need a few more modifications to make it healthier, but it is a good start–and people have explained how they modified it in the comment section. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/faux-reos-recipe
Blue cheese dressing, cereal bars and Ritz crackers would be my first choices.
Tater tots!! Oh please do tater tots!!
And mayo. I have tried 3 or 4 recipes, but I have not liked any of them. And my husband liked them even less than I did, so they definitely wouldn’t fly if I made them on a regular basis.
Onion soup mix would be great too!!
Teriyaki sauce is actually surprisingly easy. A quick google search will give you a ton of easily-adaptable recipes, and I don’t think I’ve ever met a teriyaki sauce I don’t like, personally!
Tater Tots and Cereal Bars.
My vote is for the condiment staples…ketchup, mayo, and BBQ sauce, or maybe onion soup mix. (I’ll have to check if you have a Ranch Salad dressing/mix recipe…that’s another one that my family hasn’t ever found a store-bought brand quite as tasty as restaurant Ranch!) Thanks Laura…happy concocting!
Being that my husband is from mexico, I would be interested in corn tortillas (as they eat those way more than flour), and I tried to make chilaquiles healthier with some flour ones and it turned out awful. So here are my top three:
1: Corn Tortillas
2:Teriyaki Sauce, have tried to make it before and never turned out sweet and savory like the restaurants
3:instead of tater tots, I would say another potato derivative, Jo-Jos.
Good luck with your challenge.
Erin GymboCraze.weebly.com
We’re all about the condiments at our house. So, bring on the ketchup, mayo, and teriyaki sauce please! :o) Although, if you give a family some condiment recipes, it’s most likely they’re going to want some cracker, tater tots, and crackers to put them on….
Thanks for your gusto!
Sharon
I would like to see the healthier version of teriyaki sauce, tator tots, and blue cheese dressing.
I make a bbq sauce that is really good…got it from a true “cowboy” of a chef.
Have fun with the challenge. I find that I could be on your website full time…got to find some time to hang out and read and try some of your recipes.
Butterscotch chips gets my family’s vote. I would also be interested in fig newtons (or a strawberry version.)
cereal bars and ketchup
Ritz crackers, onion soup mix. And if you wouldn’t mind, I would like a dose of your knowledge so I could also experiment. :)
onion soup mix, tater tots, chocolate milk
Corn tortillas and teriyaki sauce. Please of please oh please!!!
Onion soup and chocolate milk!
I would really appreciate a mayo recipe. I use the light version but would enjoy a healthier-than-light recipe.
Teriyaki sauce would be my second.
I’d like a healthier version of Ritz crackers and tater tots. We also go through boxes and boxes of Cheez-Its, so if you could figure out that one, we’d be thrilled.
I made your poptarts the other day, and my kids keep asking when I’m making more. And your pizza pockets are going to be perfect when we go to Disney. Thanks so much.
Here’s a recipe I’ve already posted for Crispy Cheese Crackers that is a great alternative to Cheezits: https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/high-five-recipes-crispy-cheese-crackers :)
Thank you so much. I can’t wait to try these.
chocolate milk and cereal bars!
This
Tater tots and white cake
I second this one!
Teriyaki sauce, onion soup mix, and ritz crackers! (with white cake as a close runner up! :D)
Whatever you make is bound to be yummy, but I vote for chocolate milk!
I don’t have a top three, but PLEASE
KETCHUP!
My husband eats a ton of this every year, and my youngest son appears to be following in my husbands footsteps. Problem???? Son has allergy to HFCS. I need to be canning a ton of this, this year. Would appreciate a healthful, GREAT tasting recipe.
Thank you!
Carla
I make Wardeh’s Lacto-Fermented Ketchup. It’s super easy and incredibly tasty! http://gnowfglins.com/2010/06/16/lacto-fermented-homemade-ketchup/
tater tots, ketchup and onion dip!!!
First on my list is Onion Soup Mix…I used to use it for everything until I realized what’s in it!
Next is ketchup or catsup.
Third would be fig newtons- a childhood favorite!
Onion Soup mix recipe: 1 1/2 c. dried minced onion 2/3c. beef boullion powder ( I use country life brand–not perfect but better than most and no msg) 2/3 c. onion powder 1/2 tsp sugar I like to add a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch if I am using it for gravy or over a pot roast in the crockpot so it thickens itself.
Looks like Bills Best Beaf seasoning is the best bet, non GMO, no msg or animal ingredients–all of the “real” beef seasonings have nasty ingredients in them!
Chocolate milk!!! I’d love to have a healthier version on Quik or Nestle chocolate — either a dry powder mix or a syrup! Sadly, this is the only thing my kids ever want to drink and they drink lots of it (along with water too!)
Forgot to mention… I made your homemade poptarts the other day and they are FANTASTIC!! Next time, I need to add more jelly though. Otherwise, a big hit! Thank you so much!!!
I’m not crazy about the original, but I can’t wait to see you try Twinkies! The thought of healthy Twinkies makes me laugh. Little Debbies, though, THOSE are addictive. I like the little cakes with the creamy stuff inside and the chocolate icing outside. And while we are there, the doughnuts with the maple frosting and the custard inside! Goodness. I need to do a Sugar fast BADLY. :)
I actually did mayo once! I was out of the healthy stuff (or at least didn’t trust my expiration dates) and so I researched online how to make it (eggs and olive oil) in the blender!
I felt like such a domestic diva when it all emulsified and looked like the real thing1
I was so PROUD of that chicken salad! And it was YUMMY! :)
Thanks Laura! I’d vote for tater tots and onion soup mix. I just made your turkey sausage and your pancake sausage muffins. They are both great!
Hey Laura,
I thought I would share one of mine, in case you were curious,
For onion soup mix:
¾ cup dried minced onion
¼ cup beef bouillon powder
4 tsp onion powder
½ tsp dried dill weed or ¼ tsp crushed celery seed
½ tsp sugar
Makes 4 -¼ cup packets
I have used both the dillweed and celery based on what I had and it turned out good either way, Azure standard sells 1 pound packs of the dried onion and onion powder at a very reasonable rate and they are great to have on hand. I also get the bouillon from them and it is natural and has no MSG or other yucky stuff in it. This will keep about a year and can be made cheaper than store bought.
I also have recipes for ketchup, mayo, corn tortillas, Worcestershire sauce, English muffin bread, and homemade chocolate syrup if you are interested. They are all healthier homemade versions of the store bought stuff.
i would like your recipes for worcestershire sauce, english muffin bread and corn tortillas if you dont
mind posting them or emailing them to me, thanks
Kelly
[email protected]
Yes…please share!
Scarlet,
Would you mind sharing your ketchup and English muffin bread recipes?
If you don’t mind, could you post them here or email me [email protected](dot) net.
Thanks!!
Scarlet:
I also am requesting you to share a couple of your recipes. I am really
trying to get myself and my kids into eating healthier and you mentioned
several items that we use regularly. I would actually like to request
all that you mentioned but if I needed to choose two I would choose the
chocolate syrup and the worcestershire sauce. My e-mail is
[email protected]. Thank you.
How fun!
My vote would be:
1. Ketchup (even though I can’t have any nightshades which includes tomatoes, it’s for my family)
2. Chocolate milk
3. Mayo
Thanks for doing this!! I am eager to see what you come up with! :) Have fun experimenting!
I vote for Fig Newtons, Teryaki Sauce, & Ritz Crackers :)
My family LOVES all of your recipes that I’ve made. Thanks for sharing all of your hard work with us!
RITZ CRACKERS!! Oh how I would love to make them myself :)
Honestly, I will try almost everything you post about so go for it!
Tator tots and mayo!
One of my family’s favorite casseroles has tator tots on top so it would be awesome to have a healthier way to make that!
Onion soup mix would be great! Also cream of whatever soup. I use both of those for casseroles and would love to have an alternative!
Here’s a cream soup base I made a bunch of and store in a ziploc.
1 c. dry milk powder
1 c. unbleached flour
2 T. dried minced onion
1/2 t. pepper and also salt
It next calls for 3T chicken boullion powder but I get around that by just adding chicken broth to it in the next step instead of water.
Blend 3-4 Tbsp of base with 1/4 c. cold water. Then add 1c. hot water. Cook and stir until thickened. This makes 1 cup which is equivalent to a 10 oz. can.
If you want a cream of mushroom, use water reserved from mushrooms. I suppose if you wanted cream of celery, you could boil the celery until soft and use that water. I’d steam broccoli and mash it to add in for cream of broccoli.
Marachino Cherries! I need marachino cherries to make a traditional Christmas stollen that was my grandma’s recipe. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a healthy alternative. My son is allergic to the dye Red 40 so. Do you think you can come up with a healthy alternative?
Thanks!
Lori – check out this recipe: http://homecooking.about.com/od/fruitrecipes/r/blfruit23.htm
It does call for 1 oz. of red food coloring, but can’t see any reason that you couldn’t leave it out.
I’d vote for Mayo and Ritz Crackers. Two of my family’s favorites, just not together. : )
Tater Tots…I have a recipe for an yummy tater tot casserole that I’ve really been craving, but don’t want to buy Tater Tots. :-)
I use hashbrowns to replace the tator tots and homemade gravy instead of cream of soups. Yum!
That’s a great idea!! :-) Now I can’t wait to try my tater tot casserole. :-)
Tater Tots, Ketchup, Corn Tortillas and Ritz crackers–all foods I haven’t had in over a decade since I took the “real food” plunge! Can’t wait to see what challenge you decide to take on first!
5. Corn Tortillas ~ the website Cheeseslave has a soaked version of these
9. Ritz Crackers ~ I want this!
10. Onion Soup Mix ~ I want this too!
15. Chocolate Milk ~ Seems like you could just make chocolate syrup and add it to milk…something like this http://www.joyfulabode.com/2010/11/21/mocha-chocolate-syrup/
Mayo and onion soup mix
I found a delicious recipe for cocoa syrup to share. It can be used for hot cocoa or cold chocolate milk. Or any other thing you can think of to do with chocolate syrup I suppose. We haven’t found a challenge it hasn’t met yet.
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
Whisk together first 3 ingredients and warm in a saucepan over low heat until slightly thickened.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.
Once it cools, I store it in the fridge in a squirt bottle.
We use raw honey, low heat and raw milk.
Mayo, chocolate milk, and ketchup. I know that is a weird combination, but that is the most popular in my household. Thank you for all you do. I love your website and am looking forward to getting healthier and more into cooking and planning for my family.
P.S. I was also wondering if there is a better tasting flour to use
besides whole wheat. I made some really looking blueberry muffins once
and used whole wheat flour. They didn’t taste nearly as good as they
looked. Why do you choose the whole wheat flour as opposed to any
other kind. Thank you for your time.
You know, I never liked whole wheat flour either until I started grinding my own wheat into flour, useing WHITE wheat. It’s such a lovely wheat with a mild flavor and light texture. It’s WAY different from the whole wheat flour you buy at the store, which is usually made with red wheat. If you can, see if you can find flour made from WHITE wheat (not to be mistaken with white flour – usually this flour is called “white whole wheat”). Or maybe see if you can find someone with a grain mill who can grind some flour for you for you to try.
Here are my posts on grinding flour: https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/category/grains-and-grain-mills
We would love TATER TOTS & RITZ CRACKERS. We had a cook-a-thon at our house and our 2 girls and me made all kinds of your recipes including poptarts, coconut macaroons, cheese crackers, and hamburger buns. We just LOVE all your recipes and ideas. Thanks so much!
Laura, Here is a mayo recipe for you to try and compare. We use it all the time.
Mayonnaise Recipe
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp fine salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 pinches sugar
2 sp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar (I used red)
1 C. safflower or corn oil
In a glass bowl, whisk together egg yolk and dry ingredients. Combine lemon juice and vinegar in a separate bowl then thoroughly whisk half into the yolk mixture. Start whisking briskly, then start adding the oil a few drops at a time until the liquid seems to thicken and lighten a bit (which means you’ve got an emulsion). Once you reach that point you can relax your arm a little (just a little) and increase the oil flow to a constant but thin stream. Once half of the oil is in add the rest and of the lemon juice mixture.
Continue whisking until all of the oil is incorporated. Leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours then refrigerate for up to 1 week.
This is a fantastic recipe and my husband who does not like mayo, likes this! It is easy to make and the kids can help pour. Enjoy!
I would LOVE to see pictures of your fridge and cabinets. I look in mine and I feel they are all full of prepackaged foods. I am starting to try and make foods from scratch but I do need to start making more condiments from scratch.
i love your healthy “convenience food” recipes :)
i vote for:
*chocolate milk (because my three-year-old son requests it almost EVERY morning…)
*ritz crackers
*fig newtons
Ketchup!! I’ve tried several recipes, but I haven’t found one that’s worth the effort to me. Fig newtons (or strawberry) would be a fun one to.
Would love to see tater tots and cereal bars! My sons love cereal bars but I don’t buy them too often (try to avoid a lot of processed food). I made homemade bars once and was horrified when I calculated the calories so I’d love a healthified version!
I just found your blog yesterday and I love it!! I printed out quite a few recipes that I am very excited to try out.
I would love to see healthier versions of Fig Newtons and cereal bars. These are the two I’m voting for :).
Onion soup mix would be great. Thanks for sharing your recipes!
I would love to see tater tots and cereal bars. My girls love both of these but they are so expensive and unhealthy straight from the store. Thanks!!
I vote the butterscotch and cinnamon chips. I love to bake with these and would love to find something a bit healthier.
I was thinking…. would you be able to (and have time to) come up with a coffee creamer recipe? I LOVE coffee (and coffee substitutes…. teeccino, roastaroma, etc.), but store-bought coffee creamer has nasty ingredients…. plus I’m going sugar-free and need something that uses honey (or stevia or sucanat, but preferably honey…. I can adapt though!) instead of sugar or HFCS (yuck). I’ll be experimenting with my own, but everything you come up with is always so good!! I’d trust you with my tastebuds any day.
Ok, I know I already put in my two cents, and this isn’t on the list, but is there a healthy version of COOL WHIP??? I’d LOVE to know if there was or if you figured one out!!
I know you can whip heavy cream, but for fruit salads and desserts, nothing seems to take the place of cool whip.
I cannot wait to see your Twinkie recipe. After reading this
http://www.amazon.com/Twinkie-Deconstructed-Ingredients-Processed-Manipulated/dp/1594630186
I have never let a twinkie pass through the lips of my triplets.
Anyhow, my kids are Obsessed with Welchs fruit snacks. I would love to see you make those. I have a recipe I am going to try soon.
Tator Tots and Worcestorshire Sauce. Actually, anything you pick will turn out good–so thank you in advance!
I have a recipe for homemade fig newtons, however they aren’t really healthy. They don’t taste exactly like the original, but is a good way to use up surplus figs from our tree! I imagine you could just replace the flour and sugar with healthier alternatives!
http://www.food.com/recipe/fig-newtons-homemade-134577
P.S. Two of the pictures on the site are mine.
I’ve got a great, easy recipe for Corn Tortillas! I buy organic corn tortillas at the store (Whole Foods has their own brand that only has corn, lime and salt…and organic means non-GMO corn!). Put the tortillas on a baking sheet and brush on melted coconut oil, then lightly sprinkle sea salt on top. Turn tortillas over and repeat. Then leave whole or using a pizza cutter cut into wedges. I usually cut them into fourth’s and it makes triangle shapes. Bake at 400 degrees for about 7 minutes. Watch carefully and pull them out just before they start to darken, otherwise they will be burnt. If they aren’t cooked enough, they will be tough.
FYI – I’ve found that Green Pasture’s organic virgin coconut oil has the very best taste on coconut oil…very pleasantly coconutty.
I make chocolate milk powder by mixing 1 part unsweetened cocoa powder to 2 parts sweetener. Then just add a spoonful per cup of milk & heat up until it dissolves. My kids love it.
I thought I posted a comment earlier but I don’t see it anywhere.
I voted for
Ketchup
Baking chips (if peanut butter chips could be added to the list)
and Chocolate milk (if strawberry mix could be added to)
I came back to make a comment that I just ran across a web site for a whole wheat angel food cake while I was looking for something else. I have not made this cake. . . we are not big cake eaters here. Maybe you could start here: http://www.wheatandgrain.com/recipes.html
ketchup, onion soup mix (specifically a recipe for beef bouillon that doesn’t contain MSG). I have been searching for months for a beef bouillon recipe. And ketchup. :) Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Thank you!
Have you ever tried Frontier Herbs—-chicken and beef brother??? I use it all the time in place of beef and chicken boullion
broth—not brother–good grief spell check
Where do you buy it? I haven’t ever heard of it. Thanks for the tip.
I order it from a food buying club in my area. There might be something in your area…otherwise a health food store should have it. If they don’t carry it, you can always ask they might be willing to order it.
Thank you Melanie!
How about a homemade season packet like they have in chicken ramen noodles?
I’ve made several seasoning ideas from http://www.ourbestbites.com. If something is unhealthy, I just substitute a healthier replacement. I love their Garlic Bread Seasoning especially.
Here’s a quick easy blender mayo recipe….
Put 2 eggs, 1/4-1/2 tsp of salt depending on your taste, and 2 TB of lemon juice in blender—
blend on med for 2 mins
Slowly drizzle your cold pressed oil in until it thickens. Super easy, no preservatives, and you can use whatever healthy oil you choose. You can use evoo but that has such a distinct flavor. I’ve always just used the cold pressed safflower oil. Because it’s not heated at all in the process.
I forgot to mention it’s about 1 1/4 cups of oil for this recipe.
This recipe for mayo works really well and stays creamy for more than a week.
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1 T prepared mustard
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup olive oil
Fry up some onion rings in coconut oil and dip in this! It’s the most tasty mayo recipe I’ve found. Don’t forget to make meringues from the whites! :-)
I’d really like a mayo recipe with healthy oils that can go in a cold salad (chicken salad, broccoli salad, tuna salad, etc.) Coconut oil doesn’t stay liquid in a cold salad and tends to taste dry!
I love lots of the suggestions! I just threw in 2 batches of mini bagel pizzas and would love a healther alternative that I could freeze and throw into the convection oven.
Wow there are some GREAT ideas in the comment section!!! Please keep them coming
Cool whip I doubt could be replicated, but I’ve read that you can whip a very cold full fat canned coconut milk. Haven’t tried it, though.
I actually don’t think twinkies should be that hard. White whole wheat flour based sponge cake with a homemade vanilla marshmallow fluff (corn syrup free, of course). I’ve never made vanilla but I made espresso flavored fluff and it was to DIE for.
A quick look took me here:
http://noemptychairs.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/strawberries-cream-sponge-cake-roll/
Depending on how much effort and money you wanted to put into it, you could use something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-3964-Cream-Canoe-Decorating/dp/B0009R59QY
Or you could make cupcakes (or whatever shape you have a pan for) and call that good enough. A corn stick pan is even kinda close in shape!
I would love a healthier version of a variety of Hamburger Helpers, the Lipton rice sides (chicken and beef for sure), Folgers cappuccino drink mix (french vanilla) and Miracle Whip (not mayo). Thanks!!!!
I tried to make cheese sticks a little healthier, at least we know what is in them ;)
http://hearthandhospitality.blogspot.com/
Great challenge! Can’t wait to see some more makeovers.
Okay, here’s one for you to add to your ever-growing list of things to try. I grew up with processed foods at home and I kind of miss (gasp!) Shake-N-Bake pork chops. The chicken kind is all right, but I love Shake-N-Bake pork chops. I will not buy it, ever, because of the junk it’s made with… but I think about it sometimes. Do you think you could come up with a seasoned bread coating for meats that would taste like the Shake-N-Bake ones?
The other thing I miss is Rice-A-Roni. I can’t cook a decent rice to save my soul! If it’s the right texture it’s flavorless, if it has flavor it’s undercooked or too mushy… I *hate* cooking rice! I used to enjoy Rice-A-Roni and those Lipton rice or noodle packages quite a bit. I’d love to replicate those too. You did a great job with the Hamburger Helper request.
Sweet and sour sauce! I also would like a good wonton soup recipe. Our favorite place b4 eating healthy had a rich brown broth on their soup that was to die for and I just can not seem to get it right.
I love that you did the teriyaki sauce. Would you be willing to try Worcestershire sauce? All the commercial brands have HFCS–blech!
I have to agree with Kathy on the Hamburger Helper, and the Lipton rice sides and noodle sides.
I have found a WONDERFUL recipe for Hamburger Helper and posted it on my blog. I actually found it on someone else’s blog but I can’t remember where. So if this anyone recognizes this one, feel free to take the credit!
http://thisgreatlife-tawnya.blogspot.com/2010/04/make-it-yourself-hamburger-helper.html
As far as the mayonnaise goes, I have had good success with this recipe on Allrecipes.com:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Home-Made-Mayonnaise/Detail.aspx
Being Italian, I always use extra virgin olive oil and add garlic. I don’t care for store bought mayo, but this is good!
I like the idea of cereal bars!!! My toddler would eat nothing else if I let her. Fresh and Easy sells some that are made from better ingredients but it would be nice to make at home. I can’t wait so see!
I love this idea! I thought I’d give you a hint though….You can easily make a white cake mix, though it won’t be bleached white (you should really reiterate to your readers that the manufacturers literally BLEACH the flour with one off the following chemicals, chlorine dioxide (unstable to be transported in the U.S.), Calcium peroxide, or Azodicarbonamide, to make it white). Anyway, what I was leading to…is that you can just buy WHITE wheat,(as opposed to red) either soft or hard, to make your baked goods significantly lighter in color. Soft white spring wheat is the best for baking goods, and actually makes your muffins and cakes lighter and fluffier.
Yes, I actually always bake with white wheat that I grind from either soft or hard white spring wheat. But, once I add sucanat, which is unprocessed sugar and tends to be on the brown side – the cake would look tan. ;) Hmm…maybe I could use honey to sweeten it though – then it wouldn’t be as dark!
What about xylitol? My great-aunt left some with us recently and since we were really short on sucanat, we used it to make a lemon pudding. We were delighted with a yellow lemon pudding, as opposed to the brownish color that it would have been if we had used sucanat :) I’m not really familiar with xylitol and how it compares to other natural sweeteners … it is much more expensive than sucanat, but at least we have an option for when we don’t want to affect the color of the finished product.
I’m just now starting to do a little research on xylitol and it does appear to be a safe sweetener. This may be worth a try on this cake!
Looking for a homemade sweet and sour recipe. Any ideas?
Can you make a recipe for ketchup using fresh tomatoes to make the paste?? So I guess we need a recipe for tomato paste to make the ketchup. That way I can use tomatoes from our garden.