Category Archives: Recipes

Instant Pot Savory Vegetable Soup

13 Monday Feb 2017

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A few weeks ago J and I invested in an Instant Pot and man is it awesome! Not only is it a time saver it’s also a seven in one multi-functional cooker: pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, sautes/browns, yogurt maker, steamer, and warmer in one! After spending three hours on the road today returning home from a fun weekend in PA, I was looking to make something for dinner that was quick, tasty, and did not require a trip to the store. In the winter I am always sure to keep the following staples so that at the very least I can whip up some kind of soup in a pinch:

  • Organic, reduced sodium, vegetable and/or chicken broth
  • Muir Glen organic cans of tomatoes (BPA free!)
  • Yellow onions
  • Garlic

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Anything else I find in my fridge or pantry to throw in is just an added bonus! J has been under the weather so instantly knew that fresh ginger root would play a role in this soup due to its natural immune boosting properties! For those of you that do not have an Instant Pot, this soup can also be made on the stove top.

Instant Pot Savory Vegetable Soup

Author: mmvsmm.com
Servings: 4-6
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbs Olive Oil
  • 2 Cloves Minced Garlic
  • 1 Tbs Minced Ginger
  • 2 Shallots (optional)
  • 1 Medium to Large Onion Diced
  • 2 Medium Zucchini Chopped
  • 1 1/2 Cup Broccoli Florets Chopped
  • 2 cups Curly Kale Chopped
  • 1 28 Ounce Can Muir Glen Diced Tomatoes
  • 5 Cups Free Range Low Sodium Chicken Broth (vegetable broth works too!)
  • 1 Tbs Parsley Flakes
  • 2-4 Thyme Sprigs
  • Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt to Taste

Instructions:

  1. Turn Instant Pot onto saute mode
  2. Drizzle olive oil into bottom of pot
  3. Once olive oil begins to heat, toss in onions, garlic, ginger, and shallots (if using) and cook until onions become translucent (about 5 minutes)img_0845
  4. Add in the zucchini, broccoli, and parsley flakes, stir for 2-3 minutesimg_0852
  5. Place thyme in the potimg_0854
  6. Pour tomatoes and their juices along with the broth over the veggie mixtureimg_0856
  7. Cover the Instant Pot with lid, ensuring that both the lid and its vent are in the “closed” position
  8. Set the pot to 10 minutes on the pressure cooker mode
  9. When the timer is up use the quick release method for ventilation
  10. Remove the lid
  11. Stir in the chopped kale until it begins to wiltimg_0864
  12. Fish out the thyme sprigs and remove from the potimg_0865
  13. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with sea salt or Himalayan salt to taste
  14. Enjoy!

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Recipe: Tuscan Chicken Skillet

24 Tuesday Jan 2017

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Over the weekend J discovered a fantastic resource for recipes: Paleo Leap. I’m super stoked for their app to come out soon as well! While I really enjoy putting together some of my own creations in the kitchen, it’s also great to try out some of the tasty recipes we find on the web. Here is our experience with this paleo-friendly slice of Italy!

Tuscan Chicken Skillet 
Author: Paleo Leap
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. chicken breast tenderloins
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 12 oz. mushrooms, sliced
  • ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
  • 15 oz. fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • ½ tsp. thyme
  • Cooking fat (I used coconut oil)
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Melt some cooking fat in a large skillet placed over a medium-high heat.
  2. Add the chicken and brown for 3 minutes on each side.
  3. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate.IMG_0756.JPG
  4. Add some more cooking fat to the skillet if necessary.
  5. Add the sliced mushrooms in a single layer and brown for a few minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.IMG_0759.JPG
  6. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes.
  7. Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
  8. Stir in the diced tomatoes, oregano, thyme, and season with salt and pepper to taste.IMG_0767.JPG
  9. Transfer the chicken back to the pan.
  10. Cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes.
  11. Return the mushrooms to the pan, combine well, adjust the seasoning if needed, and serve.IMG_0773.JPG

We chose to serve this over quinoa but it would also be great over cooked spiralized zucchini! Delish!

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Recipe: Zucchini Noodle Veggie Lo Mein

08 Sunday Jan 2017

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Need an idea for Meatless Monday? Eating less meat is one of our goals for the new year, and we plan to accomplish that by cutting out meat on Mondays. Since I cook extra for leftovers it may turn out that most Tuesdays are meatless too! I stumbled across this Zucchini Noodle Veggie Lo Mein recipe when making the Mango Noodle Bowls for our Tapas Party on NYE. Another great, low-carb and grain-free recipe from Get Inspired Everyday. At the start of 2016 I cut out gluten from my diet, but any grains in general are a form of carbohydrate and thus get converted to sugar when digested. As many researches have shown that cancer LOVES sugar, I’ve decided to go completely grain free in 2017! This will make eating out much more difficult as even gluten-free crusts, breads, or buns will have to be avoided unless I am fortunate enough to find a paleo restaurant (paleo diet is grain-free) like Hu, where we frequent when in NYC. And we just so happen to be going there this weekend to see my specialist! I have no doubt that I will have more energy and less inflammation due to this decision, which is so key for me given my almost constant sacrum pain. Fun fact: did you know that eating an anti-inflammatory diet can drastically reduce joint pain?

This recipe was so easy to accomplish with our KitchenAid spiralizer attachment. We had beautiful noodles made from both zucchini and carrots in just minutes! Check out this short video as proof!

After not being able to eat lo mein in over a year, this recipe changed all of that. And I didn’t miss a single thing about not having real noodles. As a little girl who grew up LOVING Chinese takeout out, I am a very happy camper!

Zucchini Noodles Veggie Lo Mein

Athour: Get Inspired Everyday!

Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 8 mins
Total time: 38 mins
 Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 Tablespoons avocado oil, or olive oil
  • 12 crimini mushrooms, 6 ounces, washed and sliced
  • 2 baby bok choy, 6 ounces, thinly sliced and thoroughly washed
  • 1 large red bell pepper, 8 ounces
  • 1 large carrot, 6 ounces, peeled and ends cut off
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tablespoons ginger, minced
  • 1 bunch of green onions
  • 4-8 zucchini, depending on their size, weighing 2 pounds, spiralized into noodles
Sauce:
  • 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch
  • 3 Tablespoons gluten free soy sauce or coconut aminos
  • 1 Teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 Tablespoon mirin, optional but nice for more authentic flavor
Instructions
  1. Make sure all your veggies are prepped before starting the stir fry.
  2. For the bell pepper, cut out the core and remove as many seeds as you can. Thinly slice it or spiralize it by place the core side on the blade side of the spiralizer and pushing the pronged side into the bottom end of the pepper. Then turn the handle and spiralize it. Spiralize the carrots, or if they’re too small, thinly slice them. For the green onions, thinly slice the whole bunch, both the green and the white part. Reserve the green part for the end of the stir fry and keep the white part with the garlic and ginger.
  3. Preheat a very large skillet (at least 15″) over medium high heat. While the skillet heats, make the sauce by mixing together the tapioca starch and soy sauce until the tapioca has completely dissolved, and there are no lumps. Mix in the sesame oil and mirin if you’re using it, and set the sauce aside.
  4. When the pan is hot but not smoking, add 1 Tablespoon of the oil into the pan along with the mushrooms, bok choy, bell pepper, and carrots. If you’re comfortable cooking over high heat, increase the heat from medium high to high for a more authentic seared flavor. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes, or until the veggies are starting to soften.IMG_0504.JPG
  5. Add the garlic, ginger, and the white part of the green onions and stir fry for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until it’s fragrant and the green onions have wilted. Transfer the stir fried veggies to a large serving bowl and place the bowl in the oven at a low temperature to keep warm (150ºF) while you finish cooking.
  6. Place the pan back over high heat, and add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the zucchini noodles to the pan and stir fry just until the noodles are barely beginning to soften, 1-2 minutes. Add the sauce mixture and the reserved green part of the green onions, and immediately remove the pan from the heat.
  7. Add the noodles to the veggie mixture in your serving bowl and toss to completely combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings by adding a bit of sea salt if necessary.
  8. Serve immediately.
  9. The leftovers keep well for this dish, and I like to eat them cold for lunch the next day. The zucchini noodles will shed water, but you can just pour off the extra liquid, the taste is still great.
Notes
You may need to add sea salt to taste, especially if you use coconut aminos which is generally less salty than soy sauce.
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Veggie Lo Mein!

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For added crunch we topped this dish with sesame seeds and sweet pea sprouts!

Recipes: Tapas Party Favorites

02 Monday Jan 2017

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I LOVE tapas, small dishes shared among friends. For NYE we had some friends over to our house in Ithaca, NY and put out a spread of organic/locally sourced tapas for everyone to nibble on throughout the night. I had been wanting to try more recipes from my EatPaleo app and was pleasantly surprised that I found almost every recipe from there, and they were all amazing!!! As to keep this post from being a mile long, I will provide links to each recipe rather than placing the entire recipe for each dish within the post. J and I had a lot of fun prepping and making these new dishes together. It was all made easier with the recent purchase of our KitchenAid mixer and spiralizer attachment! (video made by boomerang on Instagram)


Bombay Turkey Meatballs – Recipe found at www.peachypalate.com. These were just lovely. We discovered last minute that we didn’t actually have coriander and used dried parsley as a substitute. Loved the vibrant color of the pickled red cabbage which we chose to serve these tasty meatballs over.

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Bombay Turkey Meatballs with Pickled Red Cabbage

Pomegranate Lime Brussels Sprouts – Recipe found at www.pdxfoodlove.com. The colors on this dish were amazingly festive! These brussels were such a nice switch from the usual balsamic roasted options, which are great as well, but it was fun to try out a new flavor! And boy were they tasty!

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Pomegranate Lime Brussels Sprouts

Mango Veggie Noodle Bowls with Creamy Ginger Dressing – Recipe from www.getinspiredeveryday.com. Okay, these were hands down the prettiest tapas we served NYE. I was surprised at first that this is a raw dish, but that actually provided a lovely crunch to go along with an amazing combination of flavors. Our KitchenAid spiralizer made the most perfect zucchini noodles!

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Mango Veggie Noodle Bowls with Creamy Ginger Dressing

Chorizo-Stuffed Mushrooms – Recipe found at www.janssushibar.com. While I try to refrain from eating pork and red meat, I will on special occasions. These stuffed mushrooms were probably my favorite dish of the night. We picked up the chorizo from our local butcher, The Piggery, who has the best locally sourced, pasture raised meat in town.

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Chorizo-Stuffed Mushrooms

Tuna Salad Cucumber Bites – Recipe from www.healingandeating.com. J loves seafood, I do not, with the exception of the occasional shrimp dish. I’m also not a cucumber fan but he is. When I found this recipe, he was pretty excited. Thinking it would be a hit with most of our party goers we added it to the list, and it turned out to be a winner. J was a pretty happy guy too as I found him coming back for more throughout the night, with him proclaiming that they were addicting! Since these weren’t for me, I used organic mayo rather that the coconut oil mayo used in the orginial recipe.

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Tuna Cucumber Bites

Thyme Roasted Carrots – Recipe found at www.ahouseinthehills.com. We had quite a few bunches of carrots left in the house so I began searching for a way to use them for our party. At first glance you’d think this recipe was simply to roast carrots in olive oil and thyme, but it’s so much more. The recipe includes a delicious glaze made from maple syrup, coconut oil, and orange juice. Loved the outcome of these, incredible flavor!

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Thyme Roasted Carrots

Creamy Avocado, Artichoke, and Kale Dip – Recipe found at www.blissfulbasil.com. I remember back in the day when I first started cooking and bringing spinach with artichoke dip to a party was my standby. All of that yummy cream cheese and gooey melted cheese on top, served with sea salt pita chips. Well not so conducive to eating clean. Stumbling across this recipe was a great find and it was nice to switch things up from the guacamole often seen at parties. But hey guac is great too! The fresh lemon and garlic in this dip really brought out the flavors. We served this will blue corn tortilla chips (for our guests) and these amazing, paleo-friendly almond crackers made by Simple Mills, that I found at GreenStar. I also sprinkled a little paprika over the dip for some extra color.

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Creamy Avocado, Artichoke and Kale Dip

Balsamic Kale with Cranberries – Recipe found at www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com. For this recipe we used dried cranberries sweetened only with apple juice also bought from our local co-op, GreenStar. We already had all of the ingredients at home so making this was a no-brainer. Another festive and tasty dish to ring in the new year.

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Balsamic Kale with Cranberries

Baked Salmon Served on Chilled Himalayan Salt Block – We didn’t even need a recipe for this dish. We successfully experimented with cooking shrimp on our Himalayan salt block but wanted to try a chilled dish. We put our block in the freezer overnight, and it became unbelievably cold! While at GreenStar, I picked up some wild caught, already baked, Atlantic salmon.Given my aversion to fish, I had J slice up the salmon and assemble it on our chilled salt block just before our guests arrived. The subtle hint of pink Himalayan salt brought out the flavor of the salmon. Plus it just looks so pretty using it as a serving platter!

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Baked Salmon Served on a Chilled Himalayan Salt Block

Desserts:

We also served two dairy free, sugar free, vegan friendly, paleo friendly desserts, which I forgot to photograph at that point in the night, oops! But regardless of lack of documentation, these were too good to not mention.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse – Recipe found at www.theironyou.com. OMG was this good. I’ve been experimenting a lot with clean eating desserts and some of it has been hit or miss. This was by far the most delicious and easiest recipe I’ve found. It takes just three simple ingredients (four if you include vanilla, which we did). I was worried that it would have a strong coconut flavor due to using coconut milk, but it did not! It was also a breeze to make in our KitchenAid.

Crock-Pot Hot Chocolate (Vegan, Dairy-Free, Paleo) – Recipe found at www.tasty-yummies.com. Our menu was completely set when I stumbled across this recipe a friend had shared on Facebook. I just couldn’t say no! This hot cocoa is so easy to make, just mixing the ingredients in a slow cooker and letting it work it’s magic. The result? Super smooth, rich and creamy hot cocoa that is simply divine. We served this with various liquors for a fun adult treat at our party.

Throwing a tapas party involves a fair amount of prep in the kitchen. But J and I truly enough that time together and experimenting with different flavors and recipes. Many of these recipes would also make great side dishes for a meal as well. Happy eating and Happy New Year!!

Recipe: Green Tea Berry Smoothie

30 Friday Dec 2016

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Juicing is a big part of my life. Where many of you can’t begin your day without your favorite cup of joe, my go to morning beverage is a green tea berry smoothie. J and I are not big coffee drinkers, but don’t get me wrong, I love the smell and taste of fresh brewed coffee. For me the crash I experience after caffeine does its magic, feels much worse that the tiredness I battle with when first waking up. As I suffer from low energy, a weakened immune and fatigue, I’ve found that juicing is a great way to naturally boost my energy without relying on caffeine. I also swear by it to help me ward off illnesses during peak cold and flu seasons.

We’ve been fortunate enough to have a Vitamix on loan from friends for the past year, and I can say we’d be lost without it. I attempted making fresh juice everyday but it started to be a pain. With the Vitamix we’re able to make six servings of juice or smoothie at a time, which we store in mason jars in the fridge, allowing the two of us to have a healthy breakfast option for three days. The longer fresh juice is exposed to air, the more health benefits it begins to lose. But three days is a pretty safe bet in most of the resources that I’ve found. My tried and true recipe for our daily smoothie is loaded with antioxidants from berries and green tea. Green tea has also been shown to aid in combating some cancers. I also rely on fresh ginger to help give my immune system a boost. Here is a basic recipe followed by optional add-ins (that we do include each time we make this).

Green Tea Berry Smoothie

Recipe by mmvsmm.com
Makes 6 servings (reduce by 1/6 to make a single serving) based on 64oz/2L blender

Ingredients*:

Optional add-ins (with links to brands we use of our own choosing):

  • 3 tablespoons high quality flax seed oil for omega-3s
  • 3 tablespoons organic chia seeds soaked in water for extra antioxidants, fiber and omega-3s
  • 3 teaspoons matcha powder for extra antioxidants and EGCG
  • 2 teaspoons chlorella powder for vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, protein and chorlophyll

We do not sweeten any of our juices or smoothies as we find the fruit to be sweet enough. If you like things on the sweeter side try adding in raw agave, honey, or maple syrup. A couple of tablespoons should do the trick!

Instructions:

  1. Add ingredients into blender, liquids first
  2. Blend on high
  3. Pour into mason jars, seal jars with lids and refrigerate
  4. Enjoy as your morning breakfast or as a mid day snack!
*Disclaimer: please note, I am not sponsored by any of the products used on this blog. Any products used have strictly been of my own choosing/research. 

Recipe: Sweet Potato Gnocchi Topped with Ground Turkey in a Maple Dijon Sauce

22 Thursday Dec 2016

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IMG_0207.JPGI’m always searching for creative ways to be able to enjoy pasta dishes and still eat relatively clean. My last post featured a zucchini noodle dish, which we loved, but I wanted to try something new. I’ve often found gnocchi (potato based pasta) offered as a gluten-free option at some restaurants, but with my diet I stray away from all potatoes, with the exception of sweet potatoes. Figuring that there must be such a thing as gnocchi made from sweet potatoes, I took to Google to find such a recipe using flour that was both grain-free and gluten-free. Thanks to Heartbeet Kitchen for providing me with this winner!

5 Ingredient Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Author: Amanda Paa, adapted from Fork and Beans 
Serves: 2-3 servings

 INGREDIENTS
  • ½ cup + 2 tablespoons of mashed & smooth, roasted sweet potato (157 grams)
  • ¼ cup millet flour (30 grams)
  • ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon almond flour (38 grams)
  • ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon tapioca starch (38 grams)
  • heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
 INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Whisk the flours/starch and salt together. Put the mashed sweet potato in a large bowl and add half of the flour mixture. Lightly need it in with your hands, then add the other half and knead just until no flour streaks remain.
  2. Pull it together into one ball – the mixture should not be too sticky. If it is, add another tablespoon of almond flour and ½ tablespoon tapioca starch.
  3. Then flatten into a disc. Cut the disc into fours. Dust a clean surface with millet flour. Roll out each piece with your hands & fingers on the surface until you create a snake-like piece about 6 inches long, and ½ inch wide. Then with a knife cut individual gnocchi, about 1 inch long. (You don’t want them to be too big or they won’t cook through). Press the tines of your fork lightly into them to make the indents.
  4. Repeat for each piece of dough. Coat the surface lightly with more of the flour mix just so it doesn’t stick when you cut it.
  5. In a medium pot of lightly boiling water, pour half of the gnocchi in. Wait until they begin to float to the top, then let cook for a minute or two. Remove with a slotted spoon and lay on a cutting board.
  6. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi. Put gnocchi in the refrigerator for 5 minutes, then add 1½ tablespoons olive oil to a skillet. Saute gnocchi for 5-6 minutes on medium heat, stirring, until they are crisp on the outside. Sprinkle with a bit of salt (this is key!).

Now it was onto deciding what to serve over top of the gnocchi. We recently had a cooking demo at work that featured a pasta dish with a maple Dijon sauce. Since I couldn’t eat it with the past I figured it was the perfect opportunity to try it out with this dish and had the notion that it would pair well with ground turkey simmered in garlic, sage, and thyme. But what veggies to throw in? Kale and asparagus seemed to be the perfect savory accompaniments to the sweetness of the maple and sweet potatoes. If you are avoiding naturally sweetened dishes, and the maple syrup is throwing you off from trying this dish, I suggest experimenting with a sage pesto sauce. I haven’t tried it yet, but this one from The Suburban Soapbox caught my eye to try out next time.

We made this meal with friends for a fun date night in! It was certainly an experience making pasta from scratch. Hint, hint: next time I think I’ll be buying canned (BPA-free) sweet potato puree to skip a few steps. Luckily we had some delicious Ithaca Hummus, rainbow carrots, and Plentils to hold us over until dinner time! Side note: Best. Hummus. Ever. (and made right in my town!).

IMG_0196.JPGHere is the recipe for the maple Dijon sauce adapted from food.com, along with my recipe for the ground turkey and veggie topping:

INGREDIENTS
Maple Dijon Sauce
  • 185ml pure maple syrup
  • 125ml Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (heaped teaspoon)
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper

Ground Turkey Topping

  • 1lb organic ground turkey
  • 1 medium sized onion chopped
  • 10oz asparagus cut into pieces (fresh or frozen if not in season)
  • 2 cups chopped kale
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (olive oil works too)
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground sage
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste

Optional Garnish

  • Shaved raw milk organic Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Bring the maple syrup to the boil and boil keeping it bubbling. When the bubbles start to go from small to big and the mixture is thickened it should be ready ( about 4-5 minutes).
  2. Remove maple mixture from heat when thickened and let cool
  3. While maple mixture is cooling, heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat
  4. Add in chopped onion until and cook for 3-5 minutes until it begins to become translucent
  5. Now add in the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink, break up the pieces of meat as you cook
  6. Sprinkle in garlic, sage, thyme, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper. Cook for one minute longer
  7. Add in the kale and asparagus to the mixture and cook until the kale has begun to wilt and the asparagus is fork tender. (if using fresh asparagus you may want to add it in a few minutes ahead of the kale.IMG_0187.JPG
  8. Once the maple mixture has cooled, whisk in the Dijon mustard, seeds and pepperIMG_0200.JPG
  9. Serve turkey topping over sweet potato gnocchi and drizzle with the maple Dijon sauce.
  10. If you aren’t avoid dairy, garnish the dish with fresh shaved raw milk Parmesan. We found this tasty option at our local Wegmans.IMG_0191.JPG
  11. Enjoy!

 

Recipe: Zucchini Noodles with Spinach Vodka Sauce

12 Monday Dec 2016

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My husband LOVES pasta. I, on the other hand, can live without it, which is OK as it isn’t conducive to eating clean. But, we’ve found a way to have the best of both worlds! Spiraling zucchini into “noodles” can still taste like great Italian food without all of the guilt. Now the challenge for tonight was all in the sauce. Hubby’s favorite Italian sauce is vodka sauce and because I avoid eating heavy cream, I discovered how easy it is to use cashew cream instead. We opted to top this dish with roasted cauliflower, red peppers, and crimini mushrooms, yum! If you can’t skip the protein, grilled chicken would be delicious with this as well.

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Zoodles!

This is my first recipe of my own creation, hope you enjoy!

 

Zucchini Noodles with Spinach Vodka Sauce
Approx. 6 servings
Prep./Cook Time: 30-45 mins

2.5 lbs zucchini, spiralized
3 tbs. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 large sweet onion
1 cup good quality vodka (I used Tito’s)
2/3 cup raw unsalted cashews
2/3 cup filtered water
1 28 ounce can tomato sauce (I use Muir Glen for all of my canned tomatoes)
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tbs dried oregano
3 cups fresh spinach
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Optional toppings: grilled chicken (for a non-vegetarian dish) or roasted veggies if you want to keep it vegetarian/vegan friendly. I tossed some chopped cauliflower, crimini mushrooms, and red pepper in olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, dried thyme, oregano, and parsley for 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Viola! And may I say the mushrooms were out of this world!

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To make the cashew cream:
If you have a high power blender -soak 2/3 cup of cashews in 2/3 cup of water while you make the rest of the recipe. We’re lucky enough to have a Vitamix on loan that did the trick. If you have a lower power blender, you’ll want to soak the cashews overnight. Blend the cashews and water on high for two minutes and set aside.

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Cashew pieces soaking in water

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Like magic, now we have cashew cream!!

1. Dice the onion
2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat
3. Add onion and garlic, cook for five minutes – until soft
4. Sprinkle red pepper flakes and 1/2 tbs. dried oregano onto the mixture and stir to combine
5. Pour vodka into mixture and cook down until reduced by about half
6. Open can of diced tomatoes and can of tomato sauce. Pour into saucepan
7. Heat to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes
8. While sauce is cooking spiral zucchini into “noodles”
9. Heat olive oil in large skillet or wok, add zucchini spirals and cook for 4-6 minutes or until they reach your desired consistency. Do not overcook
10. Remove “noodles” from heat
11. Remove sauce from heat for 5 minutes and then add in cashew cream
12. Return sauce to burner on medium-low heat and add in spinach along with remaining one tbs. of dried oregano
13. Stir sauce until spinach begins to wilt, do not bring the sauce to a boil
14. Remove sauce from heat

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Now you’re ready to plate the meal! Serve the sauce over your zucchini noodles. Add fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste. If you’re like my husband, who likes to pack on the heat, be sure to include additional red pepper flakes on the table. Now if only it were easier resist the temptation to use that leftover Tito’s for a nice dinner time Moscow Mule…

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Recipe: Berry Apple Tart

04 Sunday Dec 2016

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We made this naturally sugar-free and gluten-free dessert for both our PA and NY Thanksgivings, and even my eight year old niece enjoyed it! With its beautiful red color it would make a yummy and festive Christmas dessert as well! I learned how simple and rewarding it is to make jam from scratch without sugar, which I totally plan to duplicate again for other purposes! Here’s a few snaps of our experience along with the recipe, courtesy of perchancetocook.com


Paleo Berry Apple Tart

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Author: Perchancetocook

Serves: 6+

Ingredients:

16 ounces of strawberries (one of the larger crates)

2 Tbs honey

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp lemon juice

½ cup ground flax seeds

1½ cup almond flour

1 tsp cinnamon

¼-1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tbs coconut oil (melted)

¼ cup of maple syrup

¼ cup water

1 small apple sliced ( I used almost an entire apple)

1- 1½ cup of raspberries

Instructions:

To make the jam: Chop all of the strawberries and put them in a medium pan. Add the 2 tbs honey, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 tsp lemon juice to the strawberries and mix with a wooden spoon.

Heat the stove top to medium heat and cook the strawberries for 20 minutes, stirring every now and again to make sure the strawberries don’t stick to the bottom or side of the pan. Set the pan aside once the 20 minutes is up.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix the ½ cup ground flax seeds, 1½ cup almond flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, and ¼-1/2 tsp nutmeg with a fork until everything is mixed well. Set the bowl aside.

In a small bowl, mix the melted coconut butter, maple syrup, and water with a fork until the mixture thickens a bit. Then, pour the liquid contents of the small bowl into the medium bowl of dry ingredients( almond flour/ flax seed mixture).

Mix until the whole mixture appears to be “wet”, it will be clumpy.

Grease a tart pan OR cover a tart pan in wax paper.

Pour the almond flour mixture into the tart pan and pat it down with a metal spoon until it is evenly distributed. Make sure to get the dough up into the creases of the tart pan, it may be easier to use your fingers for this part.

Pour the strawberry jam into the crust covered tart pan and spread evenly with the bottom of a metal spoon.

Cover the jam with the sliced apples and raspberries.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Enjoy 🙂

Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup -Fall Favorite!

17 Thursday Nov 2016

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soup

Ingredients (makes 4 servings so I doubled this so we’d have leftovers):
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil instead
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, copped
  • 1 medium butternut squash – peeled, seeded, and cubed
  • 1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
  • 1 clove fresh minced garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
Melt the coconut oil in a large pot, and cook the onion, carrot, squash, ginger, garlic and curry powder for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.

Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Or better yet, if you have an immersion blender you can skip the blender and extra dishes by blending the soup up right in the pot! Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe: Turkey Zucchini Burgers with Lemon Yogurt Sauce

20 Thursday Oct 2016

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Tip: we topped ours off with an organic heirloom tomato!

We made these yummy burgers in a cast iron skillet at a recent BBQ with friends and they were a hit! Discovered the recipe from my Eat Paleo app who scored this tasty find on theironyou.com (bonus: now I have another awesome, healthy resource!).

Turkey Zucchini Burgers with Lemon Yogurt Sauce
Print this recipe!
Adapted from Jerusalem: A CookBook

Ingredients
Makes about 10 medium size burgers (enough for 4 to 5 people)

Burgers

1 lb / 453 gr organic ground turkey
1 large zucchini, grated
2 scallions, thinly chopped
1 free-range organic egg
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

Lemon Yogurt Sauce

1 container (7 oz / 198 gr) plain Greek yogurt
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Chopped scallions for garnish

Directions

In a small bowl combine all sauce ingredients, stir well and set aside.
In a large bowl combine all burger ingredients and with dampened hands shape into burgers (you can also make meatballs if you feel like.)
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat and cook burgers, in batches, until golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes per side (it really depends on the size of your burgers.)
Serve warm with lemon yogurt sauce on the side.

Nutrition facts

One burger (undressed) yields about 117 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1 gram of carbs and 13 grams of protein.