Tag Archives: Bacon

Broccoli Radicchio Salad with Bacon

Broccoli Radicchio Bacon Salad with Cranberries

This flavorful, nutrient rich, salad with chopped radicchio and oven roasted broccoli is a delicious mixture of crunchy, sweet and salty. The salad is tossed with apple juice sweetened cranberries, salty bacon and is drizzled with a honey lemon vinaigrette. The colors are bright and vibrant, and it keeps well in the refrigerator for three days.

Radicchio originated in Italy, and gives the salad a pop of color as well as phytonutrients, flavonoids, vitamin c, k and b vitamins. It has a bold flavor and looks similar to red cabbage, but is nothing like it other than color. It is a member of the chicory family.

Broccoli is a vegetable in the cruciferous family and is full of nutrients. At the top of the list is vitamin k, c, chromium, folate and many more. This is a really delicious and eye catching salad!

Broccoli Radicchio Salad with Bacon and Cranberries Paleo AIP

Broccoli Radicchio Salad with Bacon

Ingredients:

8 Cups of Raw Broccoli Florets plus 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil or Avocado Oil and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt

Two small heads of Radicchio (8 Cups) Washed and shredded with a sharp knife

1/2 Cup of Crumbled Cooked Bacon (I used sugar free Paleo bacon)

1/4 Cup of Apple Juice Sweetened Cranberries (I use these)

Preheat your oven to 400º degrees F. Toss the broccoli florets in the oil and sea salt. Roast in your preheated oven in the center rack for approximately 25 to 30 minutes until crispy and brown. They will be almost like a chip. They should be golden brown and crispy on the edges, but not burned.

Meanwhile, place your washed and shredded radicchio into a large bowl and make the vinaigrette.

Honey Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup of Olive Oil

1 Tablespoons of Fresh Lemon Juice

2 Tablespoons of White Balsamic Vinegar (my favorite brand)

2 Teaspoons of Honey

1/2 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

Directions: Whisk together all the ingredients until emulsified.

Pour the dressing over the radicchio. Pour the prepared dressing over the top and toss to coat thoroughly. When the broccoli is done, place it on top of the dressed radicchio while it is hot. Add the cranberries and crumbled bacon. I like to serve it layered like this with a long set of salad tongs.

That’s it! It’s ready to serve, and as I said, this salad stays fresh in the refrigerator for several days. The radicchio is a sturdy leaf and doesn’t wilt or get soggy with the vinaigrette added to it, and the flavors just get better.

Sam

Broccoli Radicchio Salad with Bacon Paleo AIP Gluten Free

Grilled Romaine Salad

It’s grilling season! Grilling embodies so much more than food. In means hanging out in the backyard, more leisurely laid back moments, friends and family, children having the opportunity to have less structure to their day and time to daydream, warm weather, and parties!

Today I am sharing a new recipe for Grilled Romaine Salad. To make this salad you wash and halve Romaine Lettuce and brush it with Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper. Grilling gives the salad a mild, smokey flavor and also tenderizes the lettuce. I topped it simply with precooked bacon, and some chopped red pepper and scallions. Then I drizzled it with a zippy red wine vinaigrette! Here’s the recipe!

Grilled Romaine Salad – sameatshernutrients.com

Grilled Romaine Salad

Ingredients:

2 Heads of Romaine, washed and halved lengthwise

Good Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

1/2 Cup of Cooked, Crumbled Bacon

1 Diced Red Pepper

3 Scallions, Sliced

Red Wine Vinaigrette:

1/2 Cup Good Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar

1 Tablespoon of Djon Mustard

1 Teaspoon Honey

1/2 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

1/4 Teaspoon of Black Pepper

Whisk the dressing together until emulsified.

Preheat your grill, then turn down to medium-high. Brush your halved Romaine generously with Olive Oil, then sprinkle with Sea Salt and Black Pepper as desired.

Ready for the Grill

Place the Romaine cut side down on your grill, close the lid and grill 3 to 5 minutes until there are nice grill lines on your Romaine and it is to your satisfaction. It will be slightly wilted.

Remove from the grill and plate your Romaine. Sprinkle with Scallions, Red Bell Pepper and Bacon Crumbles. Drizzle with the Red Wine Vinaigrette and additional Sea Salt and Pepper if desired. Serve warm.

Serves 4

Grilled Romaine Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Eat Your Nutrients!

Easter Recipes Roundup!!!

Easter is this weekend. What plans do you have? Have you been preparing for a celebration?

My daughters are on Spring break this week, and yesterday, we colored eggs, planted pansies in the garden, and visited our local bookstore. The girls are avid readers and wanted to stock up on new releases. It is so nice after Winter to see some color! Colorful eggs, flowers, and Spring pastels everywhere! I love it!

I have put together a roundup for you of recipes from the blog that would be perfect for Easter, starting with these kid favorite, Grain Free Bunny pancakes! (For the young in all of us! You know you want your pancakes in bunny shapes!) Find the recipe by clicking the link below. They are a joyful way to start your morning!

Grain Free Bunny Pancakes

For a healthy and beautiful Easter Dinner spread, I suggest a starter of Bacon Wrapped Asparagus.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

As a main course, make this Bacon, Tomato and Basil Spaghetti Squash Casserole with a Spring Strawberry Sugar Snap Pea Salad.

Spagehtti Squash Cass 5

Bacon, Tomato, and Basil Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Strawberry Sugar Snap Pea Spring Salad

Spring Strawberry Sugar Snap Pea Salad

For a stunning seasonal dessert, serve this gorgeous SCD Paleo Strawberry Pie with Toasted Hazelnut Vanilla Orange Ice Cream, and everyone will be thinking you are the Hostess with the Mostess!

Summer Strawberry Pie with Toasted Hazelnut Vanilla Orange Ice Cream

SCD Paleo Strawberry Pie with Toasted Hazelnut Vanilla Orange Ice Cream

……and if you need ideas for all those hard boiled Easter Eggs, make these little peeps! They are so fun, festive, and easy!!!

paleo peeps 4 with type

Have a lovely Easter weekend! Ming says Hello!!!!

Hello From Ming!

Bacon Scallion Grain Free Crackers

Bacon and Scallion Grain Free Crackers

Good Morning! Are you as excited about Spring and “springing ahead” as I am? Today the sun is shining after some very wintry weather and many “no school” days for the kids.

This weekend is birthday weekend at our house. Three of my daughters have birthdays consecutively starting Sunday.

I have this really good cracker recipe that includes bacon and chives that would be great as an appetizer for any get together. It doesn’t go crazy on the bacon, just two tablespoons in the batch really imparts a bacon flavor to the crackers.

Whether or not you are eating with food restrictions, this cracker should appeal to everyone. I am always looking to create recipes that I can feed to company, that I can eat too, and uses real ingredients.

You can cut these crackers into fancy shapes, or just use a pizza cutter to cut them into squares or rectangles. They are intended to be bite size, so if using a cookie cutter, use accordingly. 🙂

Baked Bacon and Scallion Almond Flour Crackers

Bacon Scallion Grain Free Crackers

1 1/2 Cups of Superfine Almond Flour

1/4 Cup Scallions, Green Parts Only (finely minced)

2 Tablespoons of Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

2 Tablespoons of Crispy Cooked Bacon, crumbled (use sugar free bacon if eating SCD Low FodMap)

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon Sea Salt

1/4 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350º degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients with a fork, including the bacon and scallions. Add the lime juice and olive oil and whisk again with a fork until the dough holds together. You can add a bit more lime juice if needed.

Bacon and Scallion Cracker Dough

Form the cracker dough into a ball, and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Between two pieces of parchment or plastic wrap, from into a rectangle. Then, roll the dough with a rolling pin into an approximate 8″ x 11″ rectangle.

Bacon and Scallion Cracker Dough Ready to Roll

Ready to Cut

Now you can cut out the shapes, I used a small heart shaped cutter, or using a pizza wheel, cut the dough into squares or rectangles about an inch and a half in size.

Ready to Go Into the Oven

Bake in a preheated oven for 12 to 20 minutes. This a a wide range, but I have found it really depends on the thickness of the cracker. So keep an eye on them, and bake them until brown but not over brown. Cool completely on the baking sheet to allow them to crisp up.

Baked Bacon and Scallion Almond Flour Crackers

Enjoy these delicious little crackers as an appetizer, or with whatever your heart desires!

Makes approximately 40 bite size crackers.

Very Low FodMap Serving Size is 4 crackers.

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!

Green Beans with Figs and Bacon

I can’t resist fresh figs when they hit the market in the Summer. They are so elegant and miraculous when you cut them open and see the gorgeous insides. They are artwork and remind me of a kaleidoscope or a fireworks display. Figs are little packages containing calcium, fiber, potassium, iron, Vitamin A, niacin, folate and Vitamin C.

When I go shopping for food to cook for the week, as a nutrient seeker, I have an open mind and am looking for the freshest seasonal produce I can find. When I get it home, I decide what to do with it and get into my creative mode, which I find very therapeutic and rewarding.

This week I found fresh green beans, fresh figs, and some good quality organic bacon. A little bacon goes a long way to flavor a dish. I used two slices, but if you want more, feel free to embellish.

Green Beans with Figs and Bacon

The figs are halved and caramelized in olive oil which makes them sweeter. The natural sugars in the figs cause them to caramelize without any added sugar. They are natures perfect little plump package.

Green Beans with Figs & Bacon

Ingredients:

1 Pound of Fresh Green Beans, snipped and steamed for 5 minutes or until tender, drained and set aside

6 Fresh Large Figs (washed, halved and stems removed)

2 Pieces of Cooked Bacon, crumbled

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Aged Balsamic (I used 18 year old Balsamic which is very low sugar and amazing)

1/2 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Fleur de Sel Salt for finishing (optional)

Directions: In a large fry pan, warm olive oil over medium heat. Place the figs in a single layer cut side down, and sautee until caramelized (about 2 minutes).

Add steamed beans, salt and pepper, and gently toss with tongs to coat and warm the green beans. Add the balsamic and continue cooking until the balsamic forms a glaze. This will be accomplished quickly. Plate and sprinkle with crumbled bacon and a pinch or two of Fleur de Sel finishing salt.

I have an assignment for you this month to invest in your healthy life and longevity. Try one new vegetable and fruit from the produce isle each week. Swap it out for something you would eat processed, and eliminate that one processed food in place of a fresh, whole fruit or vegetable each day. If you need ideas, here is a Fruit and Vegetable List you can print and take to the store, or just browse the produce isle for interesting fruits and vegetables you haven’t tried before or haven’t had in a long time. Go home and Google recipes for what you buy. Remember, creating healthy habits that last a lifetime happens one step at a time.

This recipe is a delicious one that you will really enjoy, and it is beautiful to the eyes and body.

Enjoy your day!

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

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 450º 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

Eat Your Nutrients!

Italian Bacon Popovers

The air is starting to cool here in preparation for Fall, and that makes me crave popovers! According to James Beard, although they resemble Yorkshire Pudding, they are purely an American creation. I have a lot of English heritage, and grew up eating recipes my Grandmother made from what she called “the old country” (England). So here is a version of a popover that I find to be Fall Comfort Food in my humble opinion. It is a little American, with an Italian Flair and a bit of English whimsy, but mostly they are plain delish! I added some good quality parmigiano reggiano, which is SCD Legal, but if you don’t tolerate dairy, they are equally delicious without it. They are so, so good hot from the oven! They are fun to eat, and I used leftover popovers to pack sandwiches for my daughters lunches the next day. Just split them and fill them for a mini sandwich. So, enjoy a little Fall comfort food and make some popovers!

Italian Bacon Popovers

You can use a popover pan like this, but a muffin pan works just fine! It makes a dozen puffy popovers!

Oven Ready Popovers

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil or Ghee, Melted

1/2 Cup Cooked, Sugar Free is Bacon (4 slices) cooked and chopped

8 Large Pastured Eggs

1 Cup Full Fat Coconut Milk

1/2 Cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano, optional Omit for Dairy Free

1/4 Cup Coconut Flour

1/4 Cup Scallions, green tops only, sliced

1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1 Teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Preheat your oven 400º degrees. Place a half teaspoon of melted coconut oil or ghee in each popover or muffin pan cup and brush it up the sides. Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk together with the coconut milk, whisk in the coconut flour and keep whisking briskly until no lumps, stir in the remaining ingredients, then fill each popover or muffin cup 2/3 full with batter. Don’t overfill, leave room for them to pop up! Your batter will look like this.

Italian Bacon Popover Batter

Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake 30 – 35 minutes keeping an eye on them until they are golden brown. Don’t be tempted to open the oven door. Think Souffle! When they are done, remove them from the oven and take them out of the pan while still hot and cool. Eat them warm, or they make a very nice mini-sandwich!