Shaved Zucchini Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts

Another amazing shaved salad courtesy of the wonderful mandolin!

(this version without cheese)

Ingredients:

2 regular Zucchini or 8 to 10 Mini Zucchini (as pictured)

Herbs: Dill, Parsley, Mint (whatever you have)

1-2 Thinly Sliced Scallions (to taste)

Pine Nuts

Ricotta Cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Lemon Shaving (Optional)

Directions:

1. Wash zucchini and shave into thin ribbons with peeler (or you can use a mandolin)!

2. Toast handful pine nuts

3. Arrange zucchini on plate nice and loose, top scallions on top, then chopped herbs

4. Salt & Pepper it

5. Add a couple of dollops of ricotta cheese (if you don't have ricotta, you can shave parmesan on top)

6. Grate lemon on top

7. Squeeze half a lemon (2 TBSP, to taste) onto salad

8. Add toasted pine nuts

9. Drizzle good generous amount of extra virgin olive oil on top

Cold Mediterranean Spinach Dish with Olive Oil (ZEYTİNYAĞLI ISPANAK)

This is one of my favorite traditional family meals. My grandmother and mother used to and still make this delicious treat. I have recently started making it myself and realized it is super easy to make! It is a mediterranean olive oil dish and can be enjoyed warm or cold. My favorite is cold with a dollop of yogurt. Enjoy! Rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and iron!

Ingredients: 

Big Costco Size bag of Spinach (regular or baby)
Medium Size Onion
2 Large Carrots
2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup Water

tsp. Salt
Plain Yogurt (optional)

Directions:

1. Chop onion and carrots
2. Put chopped onion, carrots, salt, olive oil and water into large pot
3. Cook uncovered at medium to medium high for about ten minutes until onions are almost translucent
4. Throw in washed spinach, cover, bring heat to medium low and continue to cook for another ten minutes
5. Once spinach shrinks, stir up ingredients
6. Let it cook a little more (about 5 to 10 minutes, keep an eye on it) until water has slightly evaporated and sauce has thickened somewhat
7. Enjoy warm or serve cold (will last in refrigerator a couple days)

* Tip: I enjoy eating with some plain yogurt. Yum, Yum!!

Shaved Golden Beet & Asparagus Salad

If you don't have a mandolin, I suggest you invest in one now. It is an amazing kitchen tool that helps you turn any vegetable into an amazing shaved salad! Not only does it look pretty, but it allows you to easily eat many vegetables raw!!! This includes asparagus, beets, artichokes, carrots and more! Please buy one. If you don't have one, you can also use a peeler, but it will be harder with some of the veggies.

Here is what you will need:

1-2 Golden Beets depending on size

5-6 Asparagus (I used baby)

1 Baby Bok Choy

2 Small Israeli Cucumbers

Bunch of Fresh Basil, Parsley and/or Mint

Bunch of Arugula

Juice of 1/2 of Juicy Lemon

1/2 Clove of Garlic

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

4 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Vinaigrette:

1. Combine Olive Oil with dijon mustard and lemon juice

2. Grate garlic and add to mixture

3. Add salt & pepper to taste

4. Mix well

Salad:

1. Prepare your herbs: wash them, chop the arugula, bok choy, basil, parsley and mint (or rip them into smaller pieces)

2. Mandolin your washed vegetables very thinly (beets, cucumbers and asparagus)

3. Toss vegetables, herbs and vinaigrette together

4. Enjoy!!

Savory Herb Coconut Pancakes with Cream Cheese and Lox

I used to love Lox & Cream Cheese on a Bagel. Ooh the creamy texture combined with the salty lox on a crunchy toasted bagel. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I definitely had been craving this for a few weeks until I decided to try something new. I used a simple coconut pancake recipe, which I tweaked for extra savory-ness and used it as a base for my new "Lox & Pancake." I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Yum yum. This recipe will make two large pancakes or multiple smaller pancakes.

Here is what you will need:

3 eggs

2 tablespoons of coconut flour (more or less depending on density of pancake desired)

1 tablespoon of butter

Salt 

Dill

Smoked Salmon

Cream Cheese

Capers

Herbs de Provence

Directions:

1. Wash and chop your dill (save some as garnish_
2. Beat together eggs and flour with a pinch of salt
3. Add desired amount of dill and herbs to mixture
4. Melt enough butter over medium heat to account for size of desired pancake
5. Pour batter into pan (if making small pancakes, there will be room to pour two or three)
6. After about 1 to 2 minutes (depending on pancake size), flip over and cook another minute to finish it off
7. Repeat steps 4-6 until batter is complete
8. Once ready to enjoy, spread desired amount of cream cheese onto pancake
9. Add smoked salmon and garnish with dill and capers
10. Most importantly, enjoy!!

Chia, hemp, walnut yogurt delight!

Here is a wonderful and healthy concoction that is perfect for breakfast or any time of day. Full of healthy seeds, nuts and berries... try your own combination. Helps keep you full and feel good about yourself.

Here's what you'll need:

Chia Seeds

Hemp Seeds

Buckwheat Groats

Cinnamon

Walnuts

Raisins (I used golden)

Dried Apple

Blueberries
Yogurt

Now put some plain yogurt into a bowl (I use Trader Joe's European Style because it's thinner in consistency, but you could easily use greek for more protein). Then sprinkle on this ingredients to your heart's desire. No need for extra sugar or honey because the fruit and cinnamon give it enough sweetness. But if you want a little more, honey or agave syrup could work!

Enjoy!!

Tough Mudder

Where it all started...

I know I haven't posted in awhile. I assure you though I have many pictures and recipes waiting to be added and I will soon! I am in the process of moving and finishing up some projects. I did want to share this photo though of me and my girlfriends at this year's tough mudder. It was so much fun, just like last year!! Woo hoo!! I cautiously recommend this type of adventure. It is tough, so make sure that you are mentally and physically prepared!

Corned Beef and Cabbage with Mashed Coconut Sweet Potatoes

Let me just begin by saying... Delicious! I was very pleased with how this dish turned out. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to make some Corned Beef and Cabbage. I can't take credit for the Corned Beef, because I bought it from Trader Joe's. All I had to do was add some water and throw it in the oven for 25 minutes! But isn't that what most people do... I love that this brand was nitrite/nitrate free, therefore migraine free. :)

(This is a grain-free, gluten-free, Paleo diet friendly meal)

Anywho, here are the details...

Buy a Corned Beef Brisket (most come ready in a brine to be cooked according to directions. Trader Joe's had one pre-cooked that just needed some warm up time in the oven/microwave. I was looking for the kind that had to cook, but my Trader Joe's store is small. What I found was Pocino Naturals Uncured Corned Beef Brisket). The directions call for placing it in an oven proof dish, pouring one cup of water over the meat, covering with foil and sticking it in a pre-heated to 400 degrees oven for 25-35 minutes. Not ideal for throwing in cabbage towards the end. So I had to think fast... Here is what I came up with for my side dishes (mind you with ingredients that I already had at home, which was not much).

Sautéed Mustardy Cabbage

What I used (4 servings):

Half of a head of green cabbage (cut into slices and then broken up with hands)

2 Scallions (chopped up)

Tsp. of Dijon Mustard

1 TBL of butter

Water

First heat up your pan and add the butter. When melted, add the scallions and mustard. Cook until you have a nice aroma and add the pieces of cabbage in and mix until nicely coated. Pour a quarter cup of water over. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding additional water as necessary until cabbage is nice and tender. Yum!

Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I recently had a version of this at Mill Valley Kitchen, a great restaurant in St. Louis Park with a gluten free (plus many grain free options) menu. I decided I must recreate this amazingly sweet concoction. I admit I had no idea where I was going with this, but my gut led me to the perfect combination!

What I used (3-4 servings):

2 Yams/Sweet Potatoes

1 TBL Coconut Oil

1 tsp. Cinnamon (as much as you like)

Dash of Shredded coconut flakes (unsweetened)

Butter to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

I baked my sweet potatoes until tender (see recipe here for baked sweet potato - basically rub clean potatoes or yams with coconut oil and place on open foiled pan, poke holes throughout and stick in pre-heated oven for 45 min to an hour at 400 degrees). Once my sweet potatoes were done, I let them cool a bit, and then scooped out the insides into a bowl (you could use a food processor or blender to make them uber creamy, but mine turned out just fine with a little elbow grease). I added the coconut oil, coconut flakes and cinnamon and mixed well until smooth and creamy. I then added salt and pepper to taste. You can also add a little butter if you like.

So there you have it, two super simple side dishes to a simple corned beef dinner. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!! Happy St. Patty's Day. Don't forget to pair it with a nice Gluten Free Green Beer!

Note: I definitely have plenty of leftovers!!

Baked Sweet Potatoes

I recently found a site that I love... Nom Nom Paleo (http://nomnompaleo.com). Paleo recipes and sites are wonderful for grain-free diets because there are no grains in a Paleo diet. However, Paleo diets do not include any legumes or dairy, which is what makes it different from how I eat. I obviously don't always need to eat my beans or cheese, so these recipes are usually A-Ok for me! I do love my meat and veggies!

Anyway, I saw a recipe on this site that I had to try because I love sweet potatoes! Here is the link... http://nomnompaleo.com/post/1667354361/baked-yams-sweet-potatoes.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

What You'll need...

sweet potatoes

coconut oil

pan lined with foil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, simply clean the outside of your potatoes (so you can enjoy the crispy skin as well), coat the outside of the potatoes with coconut oil. Once nicely coated, poke multiple holes around the potato with a knife and place the potatoes on your pan lined with foil and stick them in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour! No need to cover the potatoes with foil, just place them on top. The insides should be nice and creamy and the outsides perfectly crispy. Enjoy like I did!!

Tip: I sprinkled some of my frozen grated lemon on top and it was amazing!! read more here... http://theshrinkthatshrank.blogspot.com/2013/03/when-life-gives-you-lemons.html

When life gives you lemons...

I'm not sure if I've said it before, but I want to emphasize the importance of eating your fruits and vegetables whole!! This is the only way to get all those great nutrients locked inside. Juicing and picking them apart will leave you with some of the missed goods. So try and eat your vegetables and fruits whole, rather than juicing them, etc. Okay, I will now step off my soap box to introduce you to a fabulous idea that is new to me... Eating a whole lemon! 

Before, I only ever used lemon juice and occasionally lemon rind. But here's a tip about lemons... the whole lemon is super nutritious and packed with vitamins. So how do you eat a whole lemon? Simple... freeze it! That's right, freeze those lemons until they are nice and rock solid. Then simply take a fine grater (microplane) and grate the whole thing down to the stem. I grated mine, rind, insides, seeds and all. What is left is beautiful fine gratings that you can add to almost anything... salads, drinks/cocktails, desserts, marinades, meals, seasonings, or just eat it plain like that... nice and cold and yummy! Obviously while I was grating I had some left on my fingers, so I simply licked my fingers clean and it was delicious!

I think I'll keep the gratings in the freezer to keep them fresh until needed.

(Lemon from my family's tree in Beverly Hills, CA)

Here are just some of the health benefits of lemons I've read about from various sites (sorry I have no references or links - so I can't guarantee these):

- Kills cancerous cells
- Fights bacterial infection and fungi
- Reduces fever (sprinkle some of that grated lemon in your tea)
- Helps cure the common cold (have an extra dose of Vitamin C!)
- Helps with Respiratory Problems
- Lemons have antioxidant properties
- Helps treat urinary tract infections
- Lemon juice is a digestive aid (so may aid in weight loss)
- Lemon has a calming effect (try inhaling lemon oil as well)
- A little lemon in your water may boost your energy when feeling fatigued
- Lemon can freshen your breath

So try the flavor explosion of eating a whole grated frozen lemon now, if not for your health, for your tastebuds!!

Roasted Cabbage

Here is a quick and very simple recipe that is healthy and delicious! A different way to eat your red cabbage... and I guarantee you'll think you were eating dessert! Roasting red cabbage brings out the natural sweet flavors, yum yum yum!

Roasted Red Cabbage

What you'll need:

1 Head of Red Cabbage

Some olive oil for drizzling

Salt and Pepper to taste

A baking sheet lined with foil (you could roast these directly on the pan too)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Now what?

Just cut your cabbage in half (lengthwise), cut out the bulky white part in the middle and start slicing into lengthwise pieces (don't worry if some of it falls apart... those loose pieces will get nice and caramelized and crispy so don't throw those pieces away!). Try and cut them as thin as you can (you can use a mandolin, but it's a bit tricky). Once you have all your round slices and those extra pieces, drizzle them with some olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper over them. Toss until evenly coated and spread onto your baking sheet or pan evenly (one layer, some minimal overlap is okay). Pop in the oven for about 20-30 min, until tender and caramelized. Serve as a veggie side dish to your favorite meal! Enjoy as always... :)

Coconut whipped cream

Coconut whipped cream

I saw a wonderful post about how you can use coconut milk to make whipped coconut cream. I thought I would try this. The trick is that you have to whip the thick solid part of the milk from the can. To make this happen, you need to refrigerate the can of coconut milk for about a week. I only did for a few hours, so I only got a few spoonfuls worth of whipped goodness. It was delicious! But... I needed more for the dinner I was going for. So, since I am not a vegan, I decide to add some real whipped cream, made with heavy whipping cream. When all mixed together I had a delicious, light coconut tasting, fluffy delight! Adding the whipping cream made the coconut flavor less intense and I thought it was perfect. Of course, if you are vegan... then try it with just the coconut milk. Like I said, I would recommend leaving it in the fridge for a few days to a week and buying two cans. Good luck!!

Ingredients

Coconut Milk - Full Fat (only use the thick solid part, remove liquid)

Heavy Whipping Cream
Powdered sugar (for sweetness and thickening, you can omit this)
Other optional add-ins: vanilla extract, cinnamon

Mix together and whip!

Shown here with my delicious flourless chocolate cake

Breakfast Quinoa

Hey there! I know I haven't posted for awhile and I have some new ideas! Here is one for now...

Breakfast Quinoa!

I actually had this for dinner tonight. The reason is because I was craving oatmeal from earlier when a drug rep brought McDonald's breakfast for everyone (including oatmeal) at work. As you know from my initial post and some thereafter, I don't eat oats because they are a grain. But... I do eat quinoa, not often, but at least I can because it's technically not a grain. It's a seed! It definitely hit the spot! Here's the ingredients... enjoy!

Breakfast Quinoa

quinoa 

water for boiling

heavy whipping cream or milk

cinnamon

honey

berries or any other fruit

Simply cook the quinoa according to directions (typically it is cooked like rice, 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa (1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa is a nice amount for one). Once the quinoa is cooked, place it in a serving bowl, add the desired amount of cream or milk, then mix in cinnamon and honey if desired until it is sweet to your liking. I think the cinnamon does the trick by itself. Then top with berries or cooked apples! Mmmmmm Mmmmmm!

Note: it takes some time to cook quinoa, so try cooking it the night before so it's ready for a fast go-to breakfast!

Meal Plans and Snack Ideas

I will try and update this list as I come up with ideas to share. But here is a handy dandy list if you are trying to think of some healthy, grain-free meal or snack options. Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments section!! I’m always looking for new and tasty ideas. J I will post pictures and recipes for some of these as I make them at home… stay tuned.

Breakfast Choices (If I am not running out the door with a plain banana I go with one of these):

1    .     Banana with 2 TBL almond butter (or other nut/seed butter). I love MaraNatha All Natural No Stir Almond Butter Smooth.

2    .     ½ cup of Plain yogurt (I use TJ’s European Style Organic Plain Nonfat) with a large handful of blueberries. Optional add-ins include; slivered almonds, toasted coconut or other berries. Can sweeten with cinnamon or honey or agave syrup.

3    .     Hard-boiled egg (I like to make a few early in the week for an easy grab).

4    .     Scrambled eggs with feta cheese (I started using coconut oil to cook eggs). Go fancy and add some parsley, dill or other herbs. Season with salt/pepper.

5    .     My easy pancake recipe made with just eggs and banana (recipe).

6    .     Sunday brunch usually includes some type of omelet and very crispy bacon! I love bacon!

Lunch Options:

1    .     Romaine lettuce wrap. Can include chicken, turkey or other meat with some hummus or guacamole, sprouts, and cucumber for some crunch. You can also go veggie with red pepper, carrots, green onion and anything else you can fit in there. FYI… Jimmy John’s delivers and you can order any sandwich as an “unwich,” in which they use a huge piece of lettuce instead of bread to wrap up the inside goods. But try to make homemade and try to stick to meats that are not deli-meats. The less processing, the better.

2    .     Tuna salad or chicken salad. I make my chicken salad with some Lemonaise, celery, walnuts, and apple. For the tuna, I like to get the one in oil so I don’t need mayo, and add celery, capers, pickles, scallions and walnuts. Yum yum. You can eat this by itself or in a lettuce wrap.

3    .     Make a salad. Any kind, pile up the veggies. Adding an avocado gives it a little depth. I also like adding some Mediterranean olives (not the seedless ones that you can put on your fingers to make an olive monster). (Blue cheese and cranberries) (make it greek) (arugula with lemon juice, olive oil and parmesan).

4    .     Soup. Vegetable soup, tomato, lentil, etc. (see my hearty soup recipe… )

5    .     Roasted chicken with roasted or steamed vegetables (I love roasting broccolini/broccoli rabe)

6    .     Raw shaved zucchini, asparagus, or mini artichoke salad. Add shaved fennel, spring onions, parsley, goat cheese, lemon juice and olive oil.

Dinners (recipes to follow soon to eventually):

1    .     Basically any meat with a side of vegetables and a small salad if needed.

a.     Baked or roasted chicken thighs/breast with roasted vegetable (onions, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower).

b.     Mashed cauliflower and roasted red cabbage with grilled sausage.

c.      Roasted brussels sprouts, baked sweet potato with cinnamon with pork roast.

d.     Grilled skirt steak with chimichurri sauce and red cabbage slaw.

e.     Lamb chops with arugula salad.

2    .     Ground beef stew with zucchini, tomato, and green beans.

3    .     Roasted vegetable lasagna.

4    .     Omelet for dinner.

5    .     Bean salad with chorizo.

6    .     Flatbread pizza on a cauliflower crust or cheese base.

7    .     Tomato, mozzarella, basil salad.

8    .     Artichokes with a lemon oil sauce for dipping.

9    .     Spaghetti using spaghetti squash.

Snacks:

1    .     Water – don’t underestimate the importance of hydration. Sometimes when you’re thirsty, your brain confuses it for hunger. Hydrate first and foremost!

2    .     Apple with some almond butter

3    .     Navel orange

4    .     Cheese sticks

5    .     Guacamole with Plantain chips (my favorite!)

6    .     Cucumber or carrot sticks with hummus

7    .     Handful of nuts or seeds. Try Pepitas! (Make pre-portioned baggies so you don’t go overboard).

8    .     Beef Jerky

Drinks

1    .     Water, lots of water!

2    .     Green Tea or White Tea

3    .     My Starbucks run is usually for either a Grande Nonfat Latte or Earl Grey Latte. Yum yum.

4     .     Stay away from juices and sodas, especially diet. Yuck for fake sugar. I do admit that on special occasions I do order a regular Coke. Soooo good, but it has corn syrup – which is made from grains, so not good, not to mention all that sugar and carbonation.

5    .     Alcohol you say? I stick to Red Wine. Beer, Vodka, Whisky, etc. made of grains. Swans Neck Vodka is made of grapes and is the only one I like (I think Cîroc has a weird taste). So I can still enjoy my favorite Bloody Marys!!

Just do it!

Here are some simple exercises that you can do while watching television. Try them, I dare you...

(images from Real Simple)

1. Jumping Jacks (try 50 at a time, or 100)

2. Plank or Side Plank for 60 sec intervals

3. Mountain Climbers

4. Wall Sit for 30 or 60 sec intervals (if you have weights, try doing some bicep curls at the same time or use a exercise ball to do wall squats)

5. Sit-ups or curls ups (try bicycle style)

6. Bridge (try on one leg at a time with other held up straight parallel to other leg)

7. Arm circles

8. Walking lunges or squats

**Now if you have additional time... private dance party at home or go enjoy the fresh air and run or fast walk for half an hour for some cardio!!**

Berry Simple Sundae

Here is my go to dessert when I need a little treat. It's sooo super easy and only involves two ingredients...

Frozen berries and vanilla ice cream!

I usually have frozen berries (I like to get the multi-berry pack with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries) and vanilla ice cream (I buy Haagen Daz vanilla because it has simple ingredients... cream, skim milk, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla extract) in my freezer because they are easy to store.

Simply warm up the desired amount of berries in a bowl in the microwave or in a small pot on the stove top and when warmed through, pour berries with resulting juice on top of a scoop of vanilla ice cream. No added sugar needed to the berries!! Please try it without adding sugar. You'll never go back to adding sugar again! There is enough in the ice cream and in the fruit itself. Okay, as usual... Enjoy!! I know I will. :)

Mediterranean nachos (sans the chips)

I love nachos and I looove Mediterranean food (think gyros or poor man's kebab). So I thought, why not combine the two? Technically what I ate would be the equivalent of the toppings of nachos. But these can be made with "chips." Just take some pita, cut it up into little triangles, coat with olive oil and salt and bake in the oven until crispy. Then put the following on top (or eat by itself)!

Mediterranean Nacho Topping (ingredients for two)

1 onion

1 lb ground beef (or lamb)

1-2 tomato (I used Roma)

2-3 Israeli cucumbers

Handful of olives

Tzatziki sauce (store bought or homemade)

Olive oil for cooking

Salt and pepper for taste

1. Put some olive oil in a pan and add one chopped onion. Sweat the onion until translucent. Then add the ground beef and brown until fully cooked.

2. While the meat is cooking, dice your tomatoes and cucumbers. You can also pit the olives if you like.

3. Once meat is cooked, put in serving plate (if using pita chips, put on top of the chips). On top put the tomatoes, cucumbers and olives on top of that and then top with your tzatziki sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!! Read below for a tzatziki recipe...

Tzatziki or Cacik Sauce

2 cups plain yogurt

2 cloves garlic

3 medium cucumbers

Salt

2 TBL chopped dill

1. Place yogurt in bowl.

2. Grate garlic into yogurt, dice cucumbers or grate and add into yogurt, along with dill. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste.

Pesto Pasta (almost)... includes pesto recipe

I used to be quite the pasta girl. To tell you the truth, now that I have been without for quite some time, I don't miss it as much as I thought I would. Though the idea of having some every once in a while pops into my mind. So I have tried a few different grain free options, including buckwheat noodles (or Soba... if you try these make sure the ingredients list only buckwheat, some include wheat flour as well) and black bean noodles. Both of these are grain free, but very starchy. When they cook, the water boils over like crazy (the wooden spoon across the top trick does not work here), so you have to watch it closely. These options are good if you really want pasta, but taste closer to whole wheat pasta. Anyway, I would eat them again, but figure I don't miss pasta that much to make the effort.

Fast forward to this weekend. I picked up something new to try in the noodle arena because I thought I'd give making pasta another try. This time I bought Kelp Noodles. These are made solely of Kelp and salt extracted from Seaweed. They are virtually calorie free (6 calories per serving, 18 in the whole bag). They are very easy to use and don't require any cooking. All you have to do is take them out of the bag and rinse them. If you have any left you are supposed to store them in water.

I decided to try these with pesto sauce, so I will include my recipe for that too.

Here they are before:

Here is my pesto recipe that I used to add to my clear Kelp Noodles...

Delicious Pesto Sauce

Very simple: Blend together 4 cups of basil (you can also use parsley or arugula or a mixture), 1 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts (you can also use walnuts), 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese, 1-2 cloves of garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Voila! You have your pesto. :)

After rinsing the noodles, add your pesto sauce. Enjoy! The noodles were pretty tasteless and didn't impart any weird taste, so I think they are good to enjoy with any sauce. 

Note: One thing that's a bit different about these noodles is that they are slightly crunchy. I'm kind of weird about textures, so I'm not sure I will use these as a pasta alternative in the future. Because even though they were great and perfectly fine, I couldn't get over the idea of crunchy pasta. But I will definitely use them in soups and salads where a little crunch is possibly expected. :)

Grain-free sausage pancake bites

So I saw this post online and was immediately excited because I love pancakes and I love my sausage. I was a wee bit skeptical of the picture, because it definitely looked like something made with grain. After making it (I'll share my picture compared to the picture I saw on the internet), I am pretty sure that the picture did not display the advertised ingredients. Anyway... despite their funny looking appearance, they were actually quite tasty. Somewhat on the drier side, but with a little syrup they gave me the grain-full pancake breakfast feeling. Now I'm super full! So here is the recipe and the pictures... Enjoy!

Sausage Stuffed Pancake Bites

1 cup Blanched Almond Meal (maybe this is where I went wrong, mine was not blanched)

3 Large Organic Eggs (or non-organic)

2 TBS Oil (I used coconut oil)

3 TBS Water or Milk (I used water, should have used milk)

3 TBS Granulated Sugar

1/4 Tsp. Salt

1-2 Sausage links (I used Trader Joe's Chicken Jalapeño Sausages)

Oil for Cooking

1. Cook cut up pieces of sausage and set aside.

2. Add 3 eggs to a blender and blend until thick and smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until all ingredients are blended well and smooth. 

3. Drizzle a little oil onto a pan if making pancake style. The author used an ebelskiver pan (I don't have one of these). I used a greased muffin tin in the oven (cooked at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until cooked through). Wherever you pour the batter, put a piece of cooked sausage into each mini pancake. Flip after about 1 minute of cooking. 

Recipe from: http://realsustenance.com/grain-free-sausage-stuffed-pancake-bites/

 Internet Photo

How mine came out. :/

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Apparently I wasn't done with cooking for the day. I decided to bake something sweet. So here is the recipe for a simple flourless chocolate cake. It is grain and gluten free, but probably far from low-calorie. This makes a good size cake so be prepared to share. Hope you enjoy as much as I did!!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet tonight and it was still very good)

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 eggs

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 10-inch pan.

2. Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave in 30-second increments until melted. Stir in between increments. (Do not overheat)

3. When melted, whisk in sugar. Then add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each. 

4. Sift in cocoa powder and whisk until combined. Pour batter into pan.

5. Bake until top has formed a thin crust for about 35-45 minutes. Cool cake in pan for about 10 minutes before serving.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream. 

Simple Soup

Today I made my standard hearty and healthy soup. It basically includes anything you have in your fridge or freezer. You can start by sautéing a chopped onion in a little olive oil in a big pot (I try to do everything in one pot... for less clean-up). You don't have to sauté the onions, but it helps minimize the overwhelming smell left in your home. Once the onions are translucent, add the rest of your ingredients.  Here is what you can include:

Liquids
Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
Add some water until desired liquid level is reached

Garlic (I mince one clove)

Vegetables (can be frozen)... as many as you want
Kale, spinach or collard greens
Tomatoes or half a box of Pomi (this is what I use)
Okra
Sweet Potato
Squash

Beans (I use one or two kinds)
Any kind of bean. I've used canned or frozen;
Lima beans
Broad beans
Edamame - shelled (Trader Joe's sells frozen shelled Edamame)
Chickpeas

Spices (really whatever you want)
Salt (if not using chicken broth)
Pepper
Dash of crushed red pepper

Once liquid is just at a boil, bring to a simmer and let cook between 45 min to an hour (to desired consistency). Then enjoy! Tonight's pot made 7 servings. Plenty for the whole week or for a very hungry family!

* Note: you could add noodles, gluten-free noodles or rice to add a grain. I obviously don't.

Paddleboarding

In the midst of this negative degree temperature, I am reminiscing fondly of the beautiful summer we had and how much I miss my lake activities!

This past summer I tried something new that I had been wanting to try for some time... Paddleboarding! I thought it would be harder to balance, but I seemed to be a natural! This is a great activity that can stimulate the mind and body. I realized that I found an exercise that didn't feel like work and that I can now include in my tool bag for relaxation and self-care techniques. Great activity to enjoy with friends or by yourself in combination with mindfulness techniques. Be safe and have fun!!

(Me on my way to a healthier lifestyle)

Note: Apparently they even have classes for yoga paddleboarding.