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Creamy Italian Dressing

MMMmmm! Creamy Italian dressing that is healthy! It uses avocado oil mayonnaise, dried herbs that you should have in your pantry, a touch of honey, and a white balsamic vinegar to give it zing! There are no funky additives in homemade dressings. This recipe actually started one of my kiddos eating salads and liking them, but don’t limit it to the greens. It also makes a scrumptious dip!

Creamy Italian Dressing

The benefits of avocado oil are plentiful, including it is a source of essential fatty acids, is heart healthy, is one of the top five food sources of Vitamin E, and it is loaded with chlorophyll which is detoxifying! Read more about the benefits here.

Incorporating herbs into recipes gives us added vitamins and minerals in our diet. Each one has its own special properties and benefits. The whfoods.org database is a wealth of information if you want to dig further.

I don’t know about you, but I am planning to enjoy this dressing often!

Creamy Italian Dressing

3/4 Cup Avocado Oil Mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon Garlic Infused Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons of White Balsamic Aged Vinegar

1 Teaspoon Honey

1/2 Teaspoon Dried Organic Parsley

1/4 Teaspoon Dried Organic Oregano

1/4 Teaspoon Dried Organic Basil

1/2 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

1/3 Teaspoon Black Ground Pepper

Directions:

Whisk all the ingredients together until completely blended. That’s it! Enjoy!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Delicious Italian Mini Meatloaves and Make Your Own Sunshine

After spending a glorious few days in the sunny San Diego area, we flew home this weekend to Maryland returning to rain and cold due to the effects of a tropical storm. It was a drastic transition from warm sunny beaches and green juice available everywhere you looked!

So, what’s a girl to do? I find great benefit in eating with the seasons, and meatloaf seemed like the perfect comfort food for a cold rainy evening. I wanted one that was gluten and grain free, dairy free and low fodmap, but utterly delicious and flavorful! I really don’t like to settle. 🙂

Here is my recipe for mini meatloaves that will definitely hit the spot and remind you of your childhood.

I incorporated some finely chopped carrots and spinach in the meatloaf to boost the nutritional value and combined a mixture of grass fed beef and turkey.

Delicious Italian Mini Meatloaves

This meatloaf is my way of bringing the sunshine home! Other ways I like to do this is with warm hugs, a cheerful welcoming smile, reading a great book, and green juicing!

What’s your perfect way to bring your own sunshine when life delivers lemons? What do you do?

Italian Mini Meatloaves:

Ingredients:

1 pound ground grass fed beef

1 pound ground pastured turkey 92% lean

3 large organic carrots, peeled

2 cups organic packed baby spinach (5 oz.)

1/2 Cup Superfine Almond Flour

2 Tablespoons Garlic Olive Oil

3/4 Cup Organic Tomato Paste (I used Bionaturae .7 oz jar) divided

1 tsp. Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 teaspoon each of dried organic thyme, basil, parsley and oregano

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375º degrees. Lay out a rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper or lightly grease it.

In a food processor, add the peeled carrots, sliced into chunks, and process until finely chopped. Add to a large bowl. Add the spinach to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add this to the large bowl also. Add the ground meat and remaining ingredients and 1/4 cup of tomato paste. Mix with your hands until thoroughly incorporated.

Divide the meatloaf mixture into 8 equal sizes, and make a ball of each with your hands. Set the balls onto the lined baking sheet, and pat into the shape of a mini meatloaf.

Now the ketchup topping:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup organic tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Mix the topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Divide evenly over the tops of the mini meatloaves and spread.

Bake the mini meatloaves in the oven for approximately 20 to 25 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165º degrees.

These meatloaves are full of flavor and hidden veggies!

Here are some photos of our trip to sunny San Diego!

A Beautiful Sunset!

Del Mar, California. Dinner at L’Auberge.

The beautiful coastline! We walked the beach every morning!

The majestic Pacific Ocean!

Tomato Basil Jam

I love the intense flavor of jams. No matter if they are sweet or savory, the flavors are intensified due to the reduction. This Tomato Basil Jam is no exception. It is thick and full of tomato flavor and only 4 ingredients! The secret is the oven roasting. Slather it on cooked meat, vegetables, or crackers to bump up the flavor of anything!

4 Ingredient Tomato Basil Jam

Tomato Basil Jam

Ingredients:

3 Large Organic Tomatoes

1/3 Cup Garlic Infused Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Basil

Preheat your oven to 375º degrees. Slice the tomatoes about a half inch thick. Toss with 1 Tablespoon of Garlic Olive Oil and sprinkle with salt. Place them in a single layer on two parchment lined baking sheets. Roast in the oven for 50 minutes until the tomatoes are starting to brown and caramelize.

Remove the pans from the oven and cool ten minutes. Place the tomatoes and the remaining 1/4 cup of garlic olive oil into a food processor. Add the fresh basil. Pulse until you get a smooth consistency.

This flavorful savory jam is full of healthy fat, lycopene from the tomatoes and delicious fresh basil. What’s not to love about this healthy spread!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Ming in the Moon (The Autumn Moon Festival)

This weekend is the Chinese Autumn Moon Festival also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is based on the lunar calendar and is celebrated on month 8 day 15. This year it falls on Sunday, September 27th. The moon is said to be the brightest and fullest it will be all year at this time.

It has been tradition for our family to have an Autumn Moon Festival dinner party every year since my daughters were adopted as babies from China. Ming’s roots are in China as well, as all pugs are. Pugs were companions to Chinese Emperors and are one of the oldest breeds of dogs. So, I thought, how fun to have a picture taken of Ming in the Moon!

As part of the celebration we eat Moon Cakes. These are sweet pastries filled with different fillings like red bean paste, lotus seed paste, or a nut filling. They often also contain a hard boiled salted egg yolk that symbolizes the moon. I prefer them without the yolks, as they are an acquired taste. The moon cakes are round like the moon and symbolize togetherness. We used to order our delicious moon cakes from a bakery every year in New York City’s Chinatown. Moon Cakes are beautiful! Read more about them here. Since becoming gluten intolerant a few years ago, I have made a gluten free version at home instead. The recipe I make can be found on Kirbie’s Cravings.

Gluten Free Moon Cakes

My older daughter, who is a nurse, came over today and spent the day with me in the kitchen prepping the dishes for the party. It will be a gluten free dinner using some of my favorite Paleo and Gluten Free Chinese Recipes, including the Chinese Five Spice Chicken Bites from my blog. Have you tried them yet? They are so easy and delicious.

Chinese Five Spice Chicken Bites

As part of the decorations, I made Crepe Paper Party Balls as a party favor for each guest. I found the idea on Martha Stewart’s website under Erin Furey’s craft videos. If you enjoy crafting, there are some great ideas there! I hope they are as fun to open as they were to make! After dinner we will go outside and see the full moon and release colorful Sky Lanterns. It should be a fun time, and Ming Ming will be right there also. She loves a good celebration!

How to Make a Healthy Matcha Green Tea Spiced Latte

Fall is almost officially here! Who is excited? It is my favorite season!

Here is a three minute video I created demonstrating a Healthy Matcha Green Tea Spiced Latte to enjoy this Fall!

Healthy Matcha Green Tea Spiced Latte

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Hot Filtered Water

1 Teaspoon Matcha Green Tea Powder

1/4 Cup of Full Fat Coconut Milk (No Additives)

1 Tablespoon of Grass Fed Gelatin (Collagen)

1 Teaspoon of Coconut Oil

1 Teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract or (1/4 teaspoon of Vanilla Powder for AIP Paleo)

1/8 Teaspoon Nutmeg (use Mace for AIP Paleo)

1/8 Teaspoon Cardamom(use Cinnamon for AIP Paleo)

Place in a BPA Free Shaker with a whisk inside. Shake 30 to 40 shakes. Add to your mug and it’s ready!

Matcha in Flips

Healthy Matcha Green Tea Spiced Latte

Enjoy your day!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mug Muffin in Minutes!

Mug muffins are scrumptious, convenient, individual and fast! Just mix and microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds and you have a warm muffin in a mug!

Since Fall is in the air, I have been craving pumpkin. I was in the kitchen this weekend creating a pumpkin flavored mug muffin with a touch of chocolate that really evokes thoughts of cooler weather, sweaters, autumn crafts and warm hugs. My youngest daughters are 12 and 14 now and like to choose and make their own breakfasts. They love mug muffins and can whip them up quickly on a school morning!

Have a yummy day!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mug Muffin in Minutes

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mug Muffin in Minutes!

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How To Make a Good Morning Gorgeous Smoothie Bowl Video Demonstration by Me

Hi everyone! I am sharing with you today this quick three minute video where I demonstrate how to make a Good Morning Gorgeous Smoothie Bowl. You can find the full recipe here.

Good Morning Gorgeous Smoothie Bowl!

Enjoy your day!

Sandra

Sour Cherry and Honey Shortbread Cookies

Warning! It is hard not to eat the whole batch of these! The good news is they are delicious, and it is a small batch.

These cookies are an absolutely delicious shortbread cookie treat recipe with the chewy tart bite of cherries!

They are delicate little bites with simple, whole food ingredients that come together in ten minutes.

The recipe makes a small batch of eleven cookies. Just short of a dozen. I have made the recipe several times to perfect it, and eleven is the perfect number.

I have this Moon Cake Mold Press that I used to imprint the tops of the cookies with a rose, but it isn’t necessary to make these cookies. I use it to make gluten free mooncakes during the Autumn Moon Celebration and have had great success with it for cookies. It just makes them fancier, and I am a gadget junkie.

Sour Cherry and Honey Tea Cookies

The benefits touted in regards to cherries are they are anti-inflammatory, enhance sleep, help with post-workout soreness, reduce stroke risk and more. See this article on cherries if you want to learn more. I love all these benefits, but I especially love the taste of them, and all the benefits are a bonus!

Honey has trace minerals in it and is one of my favorite natural sweeteners. My father was a beekeeper, and I used to help him in the bee hives when I was a child. Honey is truly miraculous. It is still a form of sugar to our bodies, but a little goes a long way! To make sure I know I am getting a high quality, pure honey, I buy it from a local beekeeper or farm market where a beekeeper is selling their honey. Local food co-ops are another great place to find a reputable honey source.

This cookie recipe only has seven ingredients, and each one adds flavor.

Sour Cherry and Honey Tea Cookies

Preheat your oven to 325º degrees F.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups Superfine Almond Flour

1/4 Cup Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Sour (Tart) Dried Cherries (I used an organic cherry with no added ingredients, just cherries)

2 Tablespoons of Local Honey

1 Teaspoon of Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

1/2 Teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract

1/4 Teaspoon of Himalayan Pink or Sea Salt

Directions: Place all the ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until all the ingredients are incorporated and holding together with the cherries in small bits, but not completely pureed into the dough. You should still see bits of nice sized, but not whole, cherries.

Scoop the dough with a tablespoon cookie scoop onto a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing the cookies two inches apart. Press the cookie with a round of the moon cake press or use fork tines to flatten the cookie to an inch thickness.

Bake in the preheated oven for just 9 minutes until the cookies are starting to brown on the edges. Cool completely.

Sour Cherry and Honey Tea Cookies

Enjoy!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Bacon, Tomato and Basil Spaghetti Squash Casserole

This is the perfect casserole for late Summer! Tomato, Basil and Spaghetti Squash are abundant locally, and this casserole is not only scrumptious, it is beautiful! The texture is soft and fluffy similar to a souffle or a delicate quiche, and the crumb topping adds just the right finishing touch.

I love all the vegetables incorporated in this casserole. Spaghetti Squash, unlike other winter squashes, has a very mild flavor and is light in color with Vitamin B-6 and Vitamin C, plus every essential mineral is found in spaghetti squash in trace amounts. Isn’t that cool?

Most people know that Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene. They also have excellent amounts of Vitamin C , Biotin and VItamin K included in their nutritional value. Take advantage of them while they are at their peak and very nutrient rich.

Scallions are an excellent source of Vitamin K. One cup of scallions contains 259% of the RDA of this vitamin. Holy Smokes! They also may help prevent cancer like other alliums such as garlic and onions. See this article by The Huffington Post.

I incorporate herbs whenever I can into what I am eating for all their various health benefits and the flavor they add. Basil adds a sweetness to this dish that I love.

Let’s start cooking!

Bacon, Tomato and Basil Spaghetti Squash Casserole

To pre-cook the spaghetti squash, preheat your oven to 350º degrees F. Cut your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds with a large spoon. Fill a large casserole pan with an inch of water and place the squash cut side down after lightly seasoning it with salt and pepper. Bake for one hour until a knife inserted in the squash slides through easily. Flip the squash over cut side up to cool. Then, take a fork and remove the squash into spaghetti-like noodles from the skin. At this point you can refrigerate the squash and make the casserole later, or move on to making the casserole.

To Make the Casserole:

Preheat your oven to 400º degrees F. Line a 10 inch round spring form pan with parchment paper after greasing it with coconut oil and set aside.

Ingredients for filling:

1 Medium Spaghetti Squash (approximately 4 cups cooked)

1 Egg

4 Strips of Bacon, cooked and chopped (omit if making it meatless)

1/2 Cup Superfine Almond Flour

1/4 Cup Good Quality Mayo (I used Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Mayo)

2 Scallions, Sliced

1/4 Cup Fresh Basil (or 1 Tablespoon Dried if you don’t have fresh)

1 1/2 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink or Sea Salt

1 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Pulse all the ingredients except the bacon in a food processor until smooth and incorporated. Fold in the bacon.

Pour the filling into the prepared dish.

For the Topping:

Ingredients:

1 Large or 2 Medium, Ripe Tomatoes (sliced in half and then thinly sliced into half moons

2 Sliced Scallions

2 Tablespoons of Fresh Basil (or 1 tsp. dried)

1/2 Cup Superfine Almond Flour

2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil

1 Teaspoon of Himalayan Pink or Sea Salt

1/2 Teaspoon of Black Pepper

Directions: Place the sliced tomatoes in a decorative pattern on top of your filling (see the photos).

In a mini-processor or a full sized one will work as well, pulse the topping until it looks like crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the casserole evenly.

Bake in your preheated oven for 50 minutes. The topping will be golden brown and the casserole puffed.

Cool ten minutes. Then, remove the outer ring of the spring form pan and serve in the parchment.

This Bacon, Tomato and Basil Spaghetti Squash Casserole will give you all the comforts in comfort food with no Grain or Dairy. Delish!!!!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Simple Peach Ice Cream (Dairy Free)

Peaches are in season now, and juicy ripe peaches are so good in ice cream! My children have been gobbling up all the peaches as I buy them at the organic market, but I was able to snatch a couple to make this ice cream recipe before they were gone. Peaches are very similar to tomatoes in that when they are ripe, and in season, they taste like a different food entirely. Do you know what I mean?

So, today I have a very simple and delicious seasonal ice cream recipe to share that is Dairy Free!

SIMPLE PEACH ICE CREAM

You will need an ice cream freezer. I used a Cuisinart.

Ingredients:

Two Ripe and Juicy Organic Peaches, Peeled and Pit Removed

1 Can of Full Fat Coconut Milk

6 Tablespoons of Good Honey

2 Tablespoons of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

2 Teaspoons of Pure Vanilla Extract

1/4 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

Directions: Here is where an immersion blender comes in handy, but you can also use a regular blender and get the same results, just more clean up! Place all the ingredients into a 4 cup glass measuring cup, and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Alternately, place in a blender and blend until smooth.

Refrigerate for four hours to chill thoroughly. Freeze in your ice cream maker.

Enjoy!