valentine's day samoas and grain-free pizza...

I found this awesome recipe from Elana's Pantry a couple weeks ago and had to make these for Valentine's Day...was not disappointed!   The only changes I made were adding salt to the cookie dough and then sprinkling the cookies with salt after the toppings were drizzled....oh and I had to add a couple tablespoons butter to the caramel sauce, so mine technically weren't 'Paleo'.  I used my own recipe for chocolate sauce as well since I forgot to buy some dark chocolate chunks.  That's one thing about having staples stocked in the pantry!   
  

 

Samoas...grain free

Cookie Dough:
2 Cups Almond Flour
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/2 tsp Baking Soda (aluminum-free)
1/2 tsp Himalayan Salt
1/4 Cup Raw Honey
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil (or Butter), melted

*Combine dry ingredients in a food processor.  Pulse in wet ingredients until dough forms.  Refrigerate for 30 min.
Roll dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thick.  Cut with cookie cutter of your choice.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 min and cool.

Chocolate:
(or melt 1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chunks)
3/4 Cup Cacao Butter
3/4 Cup Cacao Powder
1/4 Cup Raw Honey
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

*Melt the cacao butter over low heat and then whisk in the honey and vanilla until combined.  Mix in cacao powder and blend well.

Caramel:
1 Cup Coconut Sugar
1/4 Cup Raw Honey
1/2 Cup Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Organic Butter
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut, lightly toasted

Add coconut sugar, honey, coconut milk and butter in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then turn to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and stir in toasted coconut, reserving some to sprinkle on top.  Dip bottom of each cookie into the chocolate and place on parchment paper.  Drizzle with caramel/coconut mixture and then with additional chocolate.  Sprinkle with remaining coconut.  Place in refrigerator to set.  (We love them frozen, too!)

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

We also made cauliflower crust grain-free pizzas for dinner...

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

4 Cups Raw Cauliflower, chopped finely
1 Cup Almond Flour
3 Cups Shredded Cheese (I use raw pepper jack)
2 Large Eggs
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Himalayan Salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Place all ingredients in food processor until pureed (may have to do this in batches).  Spoon onto baking sheet and spread to desired shape, pressing down as you go.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove and drizzle with olive oil and your favorite toppings and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes.

Kombucha Cheers to You!

quick steak...

                             

 We ordered 1/4 of a grassfed cow last month and have been reaping the rewards.  

I cooked the filet mignon using an adapted recipe from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook...which gladly turned out to be the best piece of meat I have eaten in my whole entire life!

Quick Steak

1 1/2-2 pounds steak (filet, rib-eye, t-bone, new york, etc)

1/2 Tbsp cracked pepper

1 Tbsp organic butter

1 Tbsp coconut oil 

1 C organic heavy cream or whole milk

himalayan salt

*Sprinkle steaks with pepper and press in.  Melt butter and coconut oil in a heavy skillet.  Saute steaks a few (usually about 8 minutes total for rare) minutes on each side, until rare or medium rare.  Transfer to a heated platter and keep warm in oven while making sauce.

Add cream and 2 cloves garlic to the browning fat in pan and bring to a boil, scraping up any accumulated juices with a wooden spoon.  Simmer for several minutes until sauce thickens.  Drizzle over warm steaks and serve.

soup's on...

 

Don't throw your turkey bones out on Thursday!  Probably one of the most important nourishing foods we cheat ourselves out of by using the store-bought version is stock (organic versions included).  Purchased from the store it is highly processed, loaded with MSG or at the very least the wrong kind of salt, packaged in plastic-lined cans or boxes and full of chemicals and preservatives.

In contrast homemade stock is extremely healing to the digestive system (one of the main staples of the GAPS diet), full of minerals, vitamins, amino acids and nourishing fats (do not take the fat out of it!...and make sure to use meat and bones!), boosts immunity and is easy and inexpensive to make at home.  Remember to leave about 2 inches at the top of your jars to allow for expansion when freezing. 

Since the weather changed I've been making soup once or twice a week and make stock about every 2-3 weeks so the freezer stays full.  I'm able to pull some stock out in the morning to thaw and throw a pot of soup together in the afternoon.  Here is my basic soup recipe that can be easily altered:  

1. Brown meat and onions in coconut oil

2. Add mixed vegetables and saute for a few minutes

(for this soup I added carrots, celery, tomatoes, golden beets and cauliflower)

3. Add homemade stock (chicken or beef), herbs (my favorites are bay leaf, oregano, allspice, cayenne pepper, cumin for tortilla soup) and himalayan salt and pepper

 

4. Let simmer until veggies reach desired tenderness, add 1/2 cube organic butter and more salt/herbs/spices to taste and serve with homemade sour cream, green onions, sauerkraut or kimchee...

*it's just as good for breakfast!

Favorite Soups

 

Beef Stew: 

brown onions and stew meat in coconut oil

add carrots, celery and cauliflower

add beef stock, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1 tsp dried parsley (more if fresh), salt/pepper and simmer

add fresh green beans and simmer until medium soft

add 3 cloves garlic and 1/2 cube butter

serve with sauerkraut

 

Chorizo Soup:

brown nieman ranch chorizo and onions in coconut oil

add veggies of your choice (celery, carrots, red pepper, tomatoes, cauliflower, etc.)

add stock, oregano, salt/pepper and simmer

serve with sour cream, green onions, kimchee, etc.

 

Spicy Chicken Coconut Soup

(Kadon Peka):

add a whole chicken, cut up or 1 pkg each legs and thighs

 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

 1/4 cup naturally fermented soy sauce or coconut amino sauce

 2 T white or red wine vinegar

simmer for 30 minutes

add salt and 1/2 tsp pepper + chopped spicy red peppers as desired, chopped green beans,

1 can or 2 cups homemade organic coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes

add 3 cloves garlic and serve

 *this is a Chamorro recipe from Guam that my mother-in-law makes...one of our favorite meals ever!

  

Spicy Black Bean Tortilla Soup:

soak 2 cups organic black beans overnight (12-24 hours) in filtered water and either 2 TBSP lemon juice or whey

drain, rinse, add water to cover. bring to a boil, skim off foam and simmer for 4-8 hours

cook 1 cut up chicken in crock pot or soup pot with onions and 1/2 tub salsa

remove meat from bones, if desired (unless like my husband you have a talent for cleaning bones)

add cooked beans, 1-2 TBSP cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (if you like spicy), salt/pepper, 2 cloves garlic

simmer together and serve with brown rice tortillas fried in coconut oil, raw pepper jack cheese (or make quesadillas and cut up), avocado, sour cream and green onions

~stay warm and eat more soup~

b.l.t. lettuce wraps...

Mmmmm...BACON!  

It's not always about a recipe when you need a quick and healthy meal and being 'a little bit of this and a pinch of that' kind of cook I tend to love simple things I can throw together.  Let's face it, sometimes we forget about the basics, which in our house means burgers, tacos and B.L.T.s. that when made with the right ingredients are loaded with healthy fats and seem to be our all-time favorites!

B.L.T.

1. Cook quality bacon (uncured, organic, hormone, antibiotic and nitrate free-we like applegate farms or nieman ranch) on a parchment-lined pan in a 350 degree oven until crispy.

2. Wash and drain organic red leaf lettuce.

3. Chop organic heirloom tomatoes, red onions, avocado, red or green bell pepper...whatever you have on hand.

4. Make some mayonnaise.

5. Wrap everything in lettuce or brown rice tortilla fried in coconut oil.

brown rice pasta with golden beets...

 

Brown Rice is the only grain I tolerate very well, so we occasionally have brown rice pasta.  Last night I threw in some golden beets I picked up at the Davis Co-op last week and it turned out to be my new favorite thing!  I added some medium bright yellow peppers from the garden, but can't find the name of them!  You can sub bell peppers or jalapenos would be nice, too!  We had this with leftover Garlic Butter Chicken Legs.  If you are grain-free, steamed cauliflower roughly mashed is a good pasta or rice substitute!

Beets: blood tonic, cleanse the colon, pull out toxins, strengthen the gall bladder, protect liver and stimulate bile, fight cancer with betacyanin, rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, folic acid, carotene, B vitamins and vitamin C.  Do not peel and make sure to eat the roots and tops as well.  Juice the beets and beet tops (tons of phosphorous and carotene!) with apples and carrots for extra body fuel!

I've been unable to find a good balsamic vinegar without preservatives...until now!  My sister works for Williams-Sonoma and recommended Olivier Napa Valley, 'an intensely flavorful vinegar aged 25 years in oak barrels'.  It is honestly the best balsamic I've ever tasted!

 

BROWN RICE PASTA WITH GOLDEN BEETS

1 Bag Organic Brown Rice Pasta

1 Cube Organic Butter

1-2 Golden Beets, sliced and quartered (chop greens and add to spinach to counter garlic breath)

1/2-1 Yellow Onion

1/2 Bell Pepper or any other pepper

3 Cloves Organic Garlic, minced

1 Tbsp Oregano

1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Himalayan Pink Salt & Pepper

1/2 C Organic Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

4 Handfuls Spinach, chopped

*Cook Brown Rice Pasta al dente for 7-10 minutes.  

Slice veggies and saute in 1/4 cube butter while pasta is cooking, making sure not to overcook!  

Chop spinach and mince garlic, set aside.  

Drain and rinse pasta and add back to pot with remaining butter.  Add veggies, spices and salt & pepper to taste.  

Remove from heat and add olive oil, garlic and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar.

Top with chopped spinach and serve.

garlic butter chicken legs & cheesy broccoli brown rice...

 

We will only eat chicken legs or thighs at our house-dark meat with a bone in it.  This makes me happy, knowing we're getting the best, most nutritious part, so I make chicken legs at least once a week and eat the leftovers for lunch.  I need meat at almost every meal to feel satisfied and having chicken legs in the frig makes it easy to grab something healthy and fast if we don't have time to make lunch...and who doesn't love garlic & butter?  I always use Himalayan Pink Salt, but grabbed this Sea Salt blend at Williams Sonoma a few weeks ago and am loving that it's mixed with pepper and herbs.  If you are grain-free, steamed cauliflower mashed with a potato masher is a nice substitute for brown rice!

GARLIC BUTTER CHICKEN LEGS

2 Packs Organic pastured Chicken Legs (about 8 legs)
2-3 Cloves Organic Garlic
1/4 C Organic Butter
Himalayan Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Paprika or Cayenne if you like it hot!

*Place chicken legs in 9x13 dish and add minced garlic cloves, salt & pepper and herbs to tast, topping each leg with a pat of butter.  Bake @ 350 for about one hour.

CHEESY BROCCOLI BROWN RICE

1-2 Cups Organic Brown Rice, cooked

1 Head Broccoli, steamed

Drippings from Garlic Butter Chicken Legs

1/4-1/2 Stick Organic Butter 

1/2-1 Cup grated Organic Cheese of your Choice (We like raw Pepper Jack)

Himalayan Salt & Pepper to taste

*Mix all ingredients in a medium sauce pan or skillet and serve alongside Garlic Butter Chicken Legs