Monthly Archives: April 2015

Avocado Fries with Dairy Free Ranch Dip

Am I the only one who could eat a whole avocado at once? They are so creamy and delicious! Did you know that the fat in Avocados helps you absorb nutrients in carotenoid containing raw vegetables like carrots and leafy greens (and other red, green & orange vegetables) and converts it into Vitamin A? This is true of other fats as well and is just one of the reasons a low fat salad dressing is such a bad idea. Fat helps you access the nutrients in vegetables!

avocado fries with Won't Miss A Thing Ranch

Avocado also contains fiber and other vitamins and minerals, and the fat keeps you full. I like the glow factor of eating avocados. They are good for your skin! You don’t have to eat a whole avocado at once to get the benefits. These avocado fries are a delicious side at a cookout, and also a very fun appetizer!

Serve them with carrots and my Won’t Miss a Think Dairy Free Ranch Recipe!

Avocado Fries with Dairy Free Ranch Dip

Preheat your oven broiler and place the rack on the second level from the top. Lay out a parchment lined baking sheet.

Ingredients:

2 Avocados that are ripe but not mushy

1/2 Cup Superfine Almond Flour

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

Directions:

Wash your avocados and cut them in half removing the pit and then slicing them into six slices each, so three slices per half. You will have a total of 12 wedges.

In a shallow bowl, add your Apple Cider Vinegar and coat your Avocado Fries with the vinegar.

In a separate bowl whisk together the almond flour and salt. Dip each avocado slice in the crumb mixture, coating all sides, and place on the baking sheet.

Broil the avocado fries approximately 3 minutes on one side, then remove from the oven and turn, return to the broiler for an additional 3 minutes until golden. Sprinkle with a little additional salt if desired. I like a coarse finishing salt.

Serve with my SCD Low FodMap Ranch here.

Check out more free Health & Wellness Tips on my Facebook page here!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Grain Free Cherry Berry Granola Bars

Granola Bars have been a long time favorite around our house, and today I have a grain free version for you! My girls have given me the thumbs up on them.

Grain Free Cherry Berry Granola Bars

 

There is so much to love about granola bars. They stay fresh for several days, so you can make a big batch and wrap them individually for a quick snack, breakfast or a grab and go when you are heading out! Because, hey, the weather is getting so nice, who wants to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on a bright sunny day, or you have ball practice, a yoga class or workout to get to at the gym, or it is your day to……?

I really like the tahini in the recipe. I have noticed since consuming more nut and seed butters in the last six months, my hair is growing thicker and faster, and who doesn’t want that? Read this for information on 10 Superfoods to Prevent Hair Loss.

I added optional chocolate chips in the recipe. Note: If you use chocolate, they are not SCD approved. I have recently tried a mini dark chocolate chip that is sweetened with Stevia by Lily’s or use your favorite dark chocolate.

Grain Free Cherry Berry Granola Bars

Ingredients:

1 Cup Raw Pecans

1 Cup Raw Walnuts

1/2 Cup Dried Dates, pitted & coarsely chopped

1/2 Cup Coconut Flour

1/2 Cup Superfine Almond Flour

2/3 Cup Honey

1/2 Cup Tahini

3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries (no sugar added)

1/2 Cup Dried Blueberries (no sugar added)

1/2 Cup Mini Dark Chocolate Chips (optional, omit for SCD)

2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

1/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

(see In My Pantry here for product brands I use)

Directions: Preheat your oven 350Âș degrees. Line a square 8″ x 8″ baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper.

Using a Food Processor with a blade attachment, add the pecans, walnuts, coconut flour, almond flour, chopped dates and salt. Pulse in the processor until you have coarse pieces of nuts. Melt the coconut oil in the microwave (takes about 20 seconds), and add the melted coconut oil, honey, vanilla and tahini to the food processor and pulse until evenly combined but the mixture still contains chunks. Add the dried berries and chocolate chips if using.

Granola Bar Mix

Granola Bar Mix

Pulse until evenly distributed. Transfer the dough to your parchment lined pan, and using a piece of plastic wrap to prevent it sticking to your hands, press the dough evenly into the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes in your preheated oven.

Remove from the oven and cool completely. After the bars have cooled, lift them easily from the pan using the edges of the parchment.

With a sharp knife on a cutting board. Cut the bars into 15 rectangles.

Enjoy!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Eat Your Nutrients!

 

 

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

It’s Asparagus season, and one of the best times to eat it is early Spring when it is local and the stalks are thick and juicy!

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Asparagus is a perennial. It takes three years after planting asparagus to strengthen the roots and start harvesting it. After that it just gives and gives every Spring. I find that as the weather warms the stalks get thinner, so I like to make this side when they are fat and abundant.

Asparagus is packed with nutrients like folate, vitamins E, C, A and K, as well as a trace mineral, chromium, that heightens the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells. Asparagus also contains soluble and insoluble fiber. It is also is a good source of the antioxidant glutathione which is said to slow the aging process and benefit your skin.

Did you know Asparagus can grow as much as ten inches in 24 hours? Amazing! It is also a natural diuretic and can help the body get rid of excess salt and fluid. One caveat – If you have had calcium kidney stones or gout, asparagus is one of the foods to avoid (see here).

The recipe is simple and delicious!

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients:

16 Fat Stalks of Asparagus or more if stalks are thinner

8 Pieces of Good Quality Bacon

1Tablespoon Coconut Oil or Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon Coarse Salt (I used Fleur De Sel)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450Âș degrees.

Lay out a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet. Wrap a piece of bacon around two fat stalks of asparagus (or three to four thinner stalks) and secure with a toothpick. Set the eight bundles on your prepared baking sheet and brush with Coconut Oil or Olive Oil. Sprinkle the asparagus with the coarse salt. Place in your oven 10 to 12 minutes until the bacon has crisped and the asparagus is nicely roasted.

Serve!

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Ready for the Oven

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Ready for the Oven

Eat Your Nutrients!

Eat Your Nutrients!

 

Busting A Sugar Craving!

Busting Cravings. Get to the Root Cause.

Busting Cravings. Get to the Root Cause.

Today let’s talk about Cravings! Do You Have Cravings? Are they strong cravings or just mild? How would you rate the level of your cravings, and what are they?

Your body is so amazing! It knows when to go to sleep, when to wake up, and when to blink. It maintains a temperature of 98.6 degrees, repairs itself when injured, and knows the miracle of creating another human being. Your heart beats without you telling it to. Your lungs breathe for you. The body is a super computer, and it never makes mistakes. When you are experiencing cravings, take a look at the foods, deficits, and behaviors in your life that are the underlying causes of your cravings.

For instance a craving for chocolate can be your body telling you it is deficient in Magnesium. A small square or two a day may help satisfy this craving by restoring your magnesium levels, and then you won’t be tempted to eat a whole bar at a time, because you have corrected the underlying cause of the craving.

Have you slept well the night before? Lack of sleep can cause us to eat more and have cravings as well.

Many people view cravings as weakness, but really they are important messages meant to assist you in maintaining balance. When you experience a craving, deconstruct it. Ask yourself, what does my body want and why? Keep in mind if it is sugar and sweets you are craving constantly, it could be a sugar addiction. We also have cravings when we are trying to replace something in our emotional lives, and certain foods can mean comfort to us like a favorite food from childhood.

Think about what you are craving this week. Keep a journal for the week and write down all your cravings. I find the notebook on my phone to be handy for this. Can you satisfy your cravings by having just a little of the food you are craving, or replacing it with another activity, a healthier food choice if you are craving an indulgence, a warm hug, time spent outdoors, de-stressing with a favorite pass time, or exercise?

I am always here to listen. You are a superstar!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Cherry Raspberry Popsicles

Cherry Raspberry Popsicles

Guess What??? Yep, that’s right! It’s popsicle season! How did you guess?

It is probably because you are an amazing human being! AND you want to fuel your body with clean food to stay super amazing or become even more super amazing! Am I right?

This month marks the one year anniversary of my blog. I am so excited!!! I have shared over 100 recipes with you all in the past year to help you reach your goals, as well as stories of Ming, Ming! Whether it is improving your health overall, better digestion, wanting more energy, cleaning up your diet, eating Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Real Food, or healing from SIBO and other digestive difficulties, I am so glad you are here!

I have been honored to be a part of your journey, and also my journey through blogging to reach my health goals. I have to say, I have been feeling really great, and I hope you are too! I have met some amazing, super awesome, kind and generous people, and each and every one of your comments has touched me.

Today I am sharing a delicious, easy popsicle recipe that I know you are going to absolutely love! There is no garbage or artificial anything in them, just four ingredients and they are pretty too! I used popsicle molds to make these, but I have also made them in little paper cups with popsicle sticks inserted into them from the local craft store!

Cherry Raspberry Popsicles

Ingredients:

10 oz. Frozen Organic Raspberries

1 Cup Frozen Organic Tart Cherries

1/4 Cup Clear Honey

2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Add the ingredients to your blender. Mix on high until smooth. Pour into molds. Freeze until solid (about 6 hours). To un-mold, run under hot tap water a few seconds. If they are in a paper cup, simply peel the paper off. Enjoy!!!!

Raspberry Cherry Popsicles - Real Fruit!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Eat Your Nutrients!

 

Orange Boost Smoothie

orange boost with type

Orange Boost Smoothie is a creamy addition to a smoothie rotation! It provides Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Potassium, Protein from gut healing grass fed gelatin which also will help joints, skin and connective tissues regenerate, antioxidant rich Matcha Green Tea, Cinnamon (antioxidant, fights inflammation), and is easily digestible..

I like to have this smoothie in the mornings on my tough workout days when I have depleted glycogen.

Orange Boost Smoothie

1 Ripe Banana

1 Organic Medium Orange

1/4 Cup Sliced or Baby Organic Carrots

2 Tablespoons of Grass Fed Gelatin

1 Tablespoon Matcha Green Tea Powder

1 Tablespoon Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Cup Crushed Ice

Directions: Blend together the Orange, Carrots and Banana. Add in the gelatin, Matcha Green Tea Powder, lemon juice, cinnamon and crushed ice. Blend on high until smooth.

Try this smoothie on the days you need an extra boost! Enjoy!

serves 1-2

Eat Your Nutrients!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Blueberry Crumb Loaf

blueberry crumb loaf with type 2

It’s a great day to make a blueberry crumb loaf! The birds are screaming here this morning. They are so happy about the Spring weather! Everything is so green, and the buds on my Thundercloud Plum trees are swelling and turning pink. We have several of the trees lining the driveway. The smell of the blooms is heavenly! It reminds me of sweet tarts.

Thundercloud Plum Tree Blossoms

Thundercloud Plum Tree Blossoms

Thundercloud Plum Tree Close to Blooming

Thundercloud Plum Tree Close to Blooming

I planted blueberry bushes three years ago, and this year I think I will get a good crop of them. Blueberry bushes are ornamental also, so I incorporated them in my front garden.

I grew up with my father always having a large garden, and my mother would can and preserve the summer’s bounty, which we would enjoy year round. So, this year I have decided to get back to my roots and grow more of my own food. I started a raised bed garden and so far have planted baby lettuces, which are sprouting already.

Hopefully by summer, I will be making this loaf using my own organic blueberries. But today after being outdoors working in the garden, I can’t think of a better afternoon snack than a cup of tea and a slice of warm blueberry crumb loaf!

Here is the recipe!

Blueberry Crumb Loaf

Preheat your oven to 350Âș degrees and grease an 8″ inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.

Ingredients for Streusel Topping:

1/4 Cup Toasted Walnuts (Toast them for five minutes in your 350Âș degree preheated oven)

2 Tablespoons Pecans

2 Tablespoons Finely Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil

2 Tablespoons Honey

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

Ingredients For Bread Batter:

2 Cups of Superfine Almond Flour

2 Tablespoons of Coconut Flour

2 Eggs

1/4 Cup Coconut Oil

2 Tablespoons of Dried Currants

3/4 Cup Organic or Wild Blueberries

2 Tablespoons Honey

2 Teaspoons of Pure Vanilla Extract (like this)

1 Teaspoon Gluten Free Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom

1/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

Directions:

For the Streusel Topping:

Pulse all the streusel ingredients in a food processor until it forms medium crumbs and is even in texture. I use my mini processor for this, but you can use whatever one you choose.

Set aside while you make your bread batter.

To make the bread batter:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted coconut oil, honey and vanilla extract. Set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the remaining dry ingredients except the currants and blueberries.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and thoroughly incorporate. With a rubber spatula, fold in the currants and blueberries. Spoon the batter into your prepared loaf pan and spread it evenly. It is thick. Then, sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the loaf.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. You can tent the loaf with foil the last 15 minutes if you notice the crumb is getting too dark.

Remove from the oven, and cool in the pan for five minutes. Then using the parchment to help you, remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm or cooled. Store any leftover bread after the first day in the refrigerator.

Blueberry crumb loaf with type

Eat Your Nutrients!

Eat Your Nutrients!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Paleo Peeps!

paleo peeps 3 with caption

Get-togethers with friends nourishes the soul as well as the body. Food is at the heart of community when you think about it. Most events, parties and time spent in celebration with others involves some type of food, traditions and favorite regional dishes.  It is also seasonal, so in the Fall and Winter we eat more heavy warming food, and in the Spring and Summer our bodies tend crave lighter food. This works perfectly in eating locally. I encourage you to listen to your body. What is it telling you?

My Paleo Peeps is a fun way to serve deviled eggs.  Take them to a get together, or invite some peeps to a picnic to celebrate Spring. Immerse yourself in community with others and nourish your body and soul!

I used local pastured eggs in this recipe. The yolks are yellow and full of nutrition!

Paleo Peeps 2 with text

Although I regularly make homemade clean mayonnaise with my immersion blender, I am in love with Primal Kitchens new Mayo made with avocado oil and completely clean ingredients! It is so good and convenient! I used it in these deviled eggs, or you can make or choose your own favorite brand. Here is my favorite homemade recipe, because it is fail proof. You need an immersion blender, and it is super fast!

paleo peeps 4 with type

 

My Paleo Peeps!

Ingredients:

12 Pastured Eggs (Hard Boiled and Cooled)

1/2 Cup Good Quality Mayo (I used Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Mayo).

1 Tablespoon Gluten Free Yellow Mustard (garlic free for Low FodMap like this.)

1 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

1 Peeled Carrot

24 Currants

1 Sundried Tomato for Wattle

Directions: Slice the eggs in half from tip to bottom. Remove the yolks and mash with the mayonnaise, mustard and salt. Put the egg yolk mixture in a quart size ziplock bag and snip off the end of the bag. Pipe the yolk mixture evenly into the egg halves.

Now decorate your peeps! Currants for the eyes, slice your carrot into beak shapes and skinny slivers for the feet, and take a small snippet of sundried tomato for the wattle! Refrigerate an hour or more before serving to set the filling.

Paleo peeps 1

Eat Your Nutrients!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Grain Free Bunny Pancakes

Bunny Pancakes Grain Free Kid Friendly

I recently saw the cutest pancakes made into a bunny shape showing the back of a bunny in Good Housekeeping Magazine. They were made with wheat flour, and since my family is gluten free, I really wanted to replicate these for my kids, but with my own spin on it and grain free. We had so much fun making these, and they are easy peasy and delicious! It is a fun kitchen recipe for children to participate in. Mine had a ball creating their bunnies on the griddle, naming their bunnies (Bubba and Fluffy), deciding if they were a boy or girl, etc.  For the younger kids, they will enjoy watching you make their bunny, and I sure hope the kid in all of us enjoys a bunny too!

Here’s Zackary getting ready to eat his bunny pancake.

Grain Free Bunny Pancakes with Zackary

They are made with nutritious ingredients, and are perfect any time of year, but especially on Easter. These pancakes are made with bananas, eggs, almond flour and honey, and I used blueberries for the eyes and dried, unsweetened banana chips for the tail and feet embellishment.

Weekend Bunny Pancakes, Healthier Kid Approved

grain-free-bunny-pancakes

Grain Free Bunny Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 Ripe Bananas

4 Pastured Eggs

3/4 Cup Superfine Almond Flour

2 Tablespoons of Clear Honey

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Banana Chips

Blueberries

Coconut Oil for greasing the griddle.

Directions: Heat a non-stick griddle to 325Âș degrees. Puree the bananas in a small blender. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except the blueberries and dried banana chips.

Brush a little melted coconut oil onto a preheated griddle. Drop 1/4 cup of batter in a circle shape for the body, 2 Tablespoons of batter in a circle shape for the head, 1 Tablespoon of batter in an oval shape for each foot, and 1 Tablespoon of batter in a long ear shape for each ear. Put three blueberries on the bottom of each foot for toes and two blueberries on the head for eyes. When set and the edges are looking dry carefully flip the pancakes and cook a minute or two longer. Assemble the bunny with the blueberry eyes and toes facing up. Add a dried banana chip for the tail and one for each foot decoration and serve.

Makes 4 Bunnies.

Note: 1 Bunny is Moderate FodMap containing 3 Tablespoons of Almond Flour.

Grain Free Bunny Pancakes - Kid Approved, Paleo

 

Eat Your Nutrients!

Eat Your Nutrients!

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