Carrot Pancakes

Gluten-free cooking can be a crap-shoot. Substituting one flour for another, having to increase or decrease the bake time, sometimes it's too thick, sometimes it's too thin... Unless you buy a packaged "Gluten-Free Batter" mix, it can be tough. An ongoing experiment. Especially if you don't usually care enough to use measuring cups.... (just more dishes to clean!)

After many mornings of dry, crumbly, biscuit-like "pancakes", I think I've finally nailed this one down. It's chock full of carrots, raisins and nuts (because texture). Perfect if you're trying to sneak more vegetables into your kid's diet or just trying to justify your bimonthly pancake consumption. Either way, these are great!

**Recipe makes 4 decent sized pancakes. Double to feed a fam

Carrot Pancakes

2 large carrots (grated)

1 banana (mashed)

2 spoonfuls of flaxseed meal

2 spoonfuls of tapioca flour (or arrowroot, or almond flour)

1 egg

handful of raisins

handful of chopped pecans

sprinkle of cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric (health bonus!)

pinch of salt

• Mix everything together suuuuper well. Should be a thick batter. 
• Heat up a pan or griddle. Add your cooking fat (coconut oil, ghee, anything. Pro tip: I made two tiny sausage patties in the pan first (because protein) and just cooked the pancakes in the sausage fat)
• Once pan is hot (water sizzles if you flick it on there), add pancake-sized spoonfuls of batter. Should make 4 pancakes, but make them however large or small you want. I'll never know.
• Cook over medium heat til golden brown (2-3 minutes), flip and cook another 2-3 minutes. 
• Done!

I topped mine with cashew yogurt and blueberries. You do you :)

Verde Chicken Pasole

For me, Pasole = Christmas Eve.

My sisterfriend Durae (boyfriend's brother's wife sounds wayyy too impersonal) is whom I usually have the pleasure of cooking holiday dinners with. Outfitted with a mini farm in her backyard (maybe only 4 or 5 raised beds, but man they know how to produce a harvest!) and an exceptional grocery store down the street (Oliver's 😍), her fresh ingredients, creative taste and well-cultivated culinary skills result in many bowl-licking-good, heartwarming meals.

This year, it was her Pasole. Made on the 23rd of December, probably slow-cooked overnight with garden grown peppers and tomatillos, flavored with homemade hot sauce, her soup was oh-so-good. She served it for lunch on Christmas Eve, while we were both slaving away, starting to pick at the vegetables we were chopping, dipping our fingers in the batter we were making, tummy's rumbling, about to reach for that hour-too-early first glass of wine; everything about it was perfect! Savory, luscious and delectable with a piquant aroma that danced around the kitchen and coaxed you into a second serving. Her Pasole is now and forever a Christmas Eve tradition. As they say, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" and girllll, I hope you're blushing. I was inspired!

And hungry for more Pasole December 28th. My spin on it below:

Verde Chicken Pasole
1.5 - 2 lbs of chicken (I used breasts, but do whatever!)
drizzle of oil/fat of some sort (olive oil is what I used)
1/2 onion (diced, either white or yellow will work)
1 lb of tomatillos (cut into quarters)
2 poblano peppers (diced)
2 jalepeños (de-seeded and diced)
6 smashed cloves of garlic (flattened with the side of the knife)
8 cups of water (or broth if you happen to have any)
1 small head of cauliflower (cut into florets) (paleo "hominy"!)
salt to taste
handful of shredded cabbage
handful of chopped cilantro
handful of thinly sliced radish
diced green onion
2 limes (cut into wedges)

• Add onion, tomatillos, all the peppers and garlic to instant pot (or large soup pot) 
• Drizzle oil and turn on heat (Sauté function for instant pot, medium heat if using stove)
• Stir well and cook until onions are starting to become translucent
• Add chicken and water
• For the Instant pot - pressure on high until chicken is cooked (12ish minutes)
• For stove top - bring mixture to boil, reduce to simmer and cook til chicken is done (14ish minutes)
• Once chicken is cooked through, remove it from whatever you're cooking in and set aside on a cutting board. 
• Remove one cup of the water(now broth. Magic!)/peppers/tomatillos/other stuff mixture
• Blend all the remaining vegetables and liquid til smoothish (immersion blender or regular blender)
• Add the cup of chunky stuff you took out back to the stuff you just blended (texture!)
• Add cauliflower florets (Instant pot steam for 2 minutes or simmer on stovetop)
• Shred chicken with two forks and add back to soup
• Cook together until cauliflower is tender
• Add salt if needed
• Done!
• Top with shredded cabbage, cilantro, radish, green onion and a squeeze of lime!

Took some shortcuts with this one. Definitely wasn't my sisterfriend's slow-cooked overnight, roasted tomatillos and pepper's amazing-ness.

But for less than an hour, this delicious soup 100% satisfied my Christmas  Eve cravings!

Fudgy Avocado Brownies

Episode 2 of I'm home alone and I make dessert for dinner. This time it's brownies!

While maybe not the best choice for supper, especially since I read my Health Coaching textbook as I eat (haha!), these are freaking amazing.

And refined sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan, paleo, blah blah blah.

*** As I found out the next day, these brownies are 500% better after sitting in the fridge overnight (or at least 4-6 hours). So unless you plan on eating all the batter straight out of the bowl (which is a valid and delicious option), I suggest chilling them completely before eating.

Fudgy Avocado Brownies 

3 big spoonfuls of almond butter (I used Dark Chocolate & Coconut Kalot Almond Butter - it's Whole 30 compliant and sweetened with dates 😍)

1 spoonful of coconut oil

1/3 of an avocado

2 hearty spoonfuls of unsweetened applesauce

a 2 second pour of maple syrup

3 heaping spoonfuls of tapioca flour (I imagine almond would work too)

2 spoonfuls of unsweetened cocoa powder

handful of raw cocoa nibs

handful of raw pecan pieces

sprinkle of sea salt 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease a bread pan with coconut oil (if you need more fudge in your life, double the ingredients)
• Melt the almond butter and coconut oil together (microwave for 30ish seconds or use the stovetop)
• In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: tapioca flour, cocoa powder and salt.
• Add the softened almond butter and melted coconut oil to the bowl and mix til combined.
• MASH the F out of that avocado. Add to batter.
• Add maple syrup and applesauce. Stir everything together well. 
• Fold in cocoa nibs and pecan pieces. 
• Spread batter in bread pan and bake for 13-14 minutes (edges will look cooked, middle will still jiggle)
• Please exercise control and let chill completely in fridge before devouring :)

Because brownies "a la mode" are always better, I enjoyed these with Forager cashewgurt (unsweetened plain) and blueberries.

Raw Vegan Carrot Cake

   With my boyfriend being out of town for the past week, my regular making-dinner-for-two and having-it-ready-at-a-reasonable-hour routine has kind of gone out the window. I've been staying at the fitness studio longer than usual (taking the pole fitness class after I teach. SO fun!) and either eating dinner super late or really not at all (unless wine in the bathtub counts).
   Part of the beauty of being an adult is doing what you want, when you want... and then dealing with the consequences, right? Well, the other night I wanted carrot cake. Like for dinner. And there was no one here to stop me. Plus, I already had cashews soaking for homemade cashew milk. The stars were aligned, it was just meant to be. Thankfully with this recipe, there were no consequences. No guilt over here! Just a fridge full.. er, half-full... ok, there's a few pieces left... of delicious, raw carrot cake.

Raw Guiltless Carrot Cake

4 shredded carrots (2ish cups)

1 cup raw walnut pieces

1 cup pitted dates (soaked in hot water)

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

few shakes of cinnamon

shake of nutmeg

sprinkle of ginger

dash of cloves

pinch of salt

Cashew Frosting

1 cup raw cashews (ideally soaked overnight... or at least for an hour)

1/4 cup water

3 tbsp maple syrup

juice of 1/2 lemon

pinch of salt

2 tbsp melted coconut oil

walnuts and raisins to sprinkle on top (optional)

• Put dates in small dish, add hot water, soak while you do the next two steps
• Line cake pan (pie pan, pyrex dish, whatever) with parchment paper
• Shred carrots (either with hand grater or food processor)
• Drain dates and remove pits
• In food processor, combine walnuts and dates until it forms a paste. Add coconut, spices, salt and grated carrots and blend (No need to clean the food processor before you make the frosting. Unless you like doing dishes. Don't have a food processor? No worries! Do it all in a blender)
• Add this yummy mixture to your cake pan and put in the freezer while you make the frosting
• Drain cashews, rinse with cold water, drain again
• Add cashews, water, maple syrup, salt, lemon juice and melted coconut oil to whichever mixing machine you're using. Blend THE HECK outta this until it's as smooth as your little gadget will make it. Still kinda gritty? Who cares! Taste it... so good
• Pour frosting onto cake and freeze for 1 hour (or 45 minutes. Who's timing?)
• Sprinkle with walnuts and raisins
• Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting. And if you do? So what. You're an adult! It's carrots and nuts.

The Whole 30 - It's what's for dinner.

Round three down!

Anyone can do the Whole 30 - YOU can do the Whole 30. I am frequently asked, "So, what DO you eat?" or told, "I don't think my boyfriend/husband would be into a diet." I wouldn't really call the Whole 30 a diet. It's a lifestyle change. It's about learning what foods make you're body (and mind) feel good. It's about breaking our addictions to certain foods or the daily sweet following savory cravings. It's not about being hungry and it's certainly not about being bored with your food. My boyfriend just completed his first Whole 30 (yayyy Justin!!! **proud girlfriend**), and he can attest - the food isn't the hard part. Not drinking beer/wine/milkshakes may be tough, but dinners don't have to be. Here are our Whole 30 dinners - hope they give you some ideas!

Day 1 - Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Ghee Mashed Potatoes and Avocado Green Goddess          Dressing (No photo, sorry!)

Day 2 - Grilled steak with baked prosciutto wrapped asparagus spears with a golden beet and fig salad with walnuts and a coconut vinaigrette

           

Day 3 - Slow cooker shredded buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potatoes with homemade chipotle ranch on greens. 

This buffalo chicken is so easy!! I put a few breasts/thighs in my slow cooker with garlic powder, salt and frank's hot sauce (surprisingly Whole 30 approved). On low for 5-6 hours, shred with 2 forks and voila! Yummy shredded buffalo chicken! I usually make a big batch to eat over salads or wrapped in collard greens with a pickle and avo for lunch.

Day 4 - Orange cashew chicken on sesame oil sauteed cauliflower rice

Thank you to Jay's BakingMeCrazy for the recipe inspiration. I did not add any tapioca starch, omitted the honey, doubled the sauce, added half a chopped green cabbage, a chopped red bell pepper and a half a cup of raw cashews for crunch. 

Day 5 - Pork Egg Roll Bowl with Pineapple Sweet and Sour Sauce

Egg Roll Bowl inspiration here and sauce recipe here

Day 6 - Leftover Orange Cashew Chicken
Day 7 - Leftover Egg Roll Bowl

Day 8 - Sashimi platter with sweet sour daikon radish and cucumber salad

We got fancy on a Friday! My bootcamp class happened to be next to Wholefoods so I picked up some sushi-grade tuna and salmon before heading home It was hot - so the oven was not gonna get turned on... like at all. Hence, sushi for dinner! Served with coconut aminos (like soy sauce) and wasabi powder mixed with water (read the label!). I used the leftover sweet and sour sauce from the egg roll bowl and mixed with some spiralized radish and cucumber for an easy side salad. And notice the La Croix seltzer... in a wine glass... I love.

Day 9 - Hatch green chili ground lamb burgers with baked garlic rosemary turnip fries, homemade chipotle strawberry ketchup and salad with Tessamae's ranch dressing

Day 10 - Baked garlic salmon with homemade dill tartar sauce and bacon chard brussel sprout saute (delicious!!)

Day 11 - Slow cooker hatch chili pork tenderloin with pineapple served on romaine with cherry tomatoes, red onion and avocado 

Day 12 - Slow cooker Moroccan chicken with sweet potatoes and raisins on baby kale with tahini parsnip "rice"

Original recipe by Real Food with Dana - found here

Day 13 - Leftover Moroccan Chicken (such great flavors! This may have been my fave meal this round.)

Day 14 - Salmon cakes with dill pickle tartar on baby kale with olive egg potato salad

Recipe here

Day 15 - Sage scallion turkey burger with guacamole on arugula with cherry tomatoes
When I say "with" guacamole, I mean drowning in guacamole. I found that it was cheaper and easier for me to buy pre-made guacamole (read labels of course) this round. Also, the ground sage mixed in with the ground turkey gives it a sausage-like flavor.

Day 16 BREAKFAST -- Bacon Hotdog Potato Hash Breakfast Pizza

This was too good not to share. Cooked the bacon first - left the bacon fat in the pan. Added grated potato/carrot and cooked for 8-10 minutes until the bottom of the hash was golden brown and crispy. Cracked 4 eggs on top and covered until the eggs were almost cooked. Added bacon and Whole 30 hotdogs, cooked for another minute before slicing and serving.

Day 16 Dinner - Leftover sage scallion turkey burgers drowning in guacamole over salad

Day 17 - Greek stuffed turkey burgers with tahini sauce, almond crusted baked onion rings with roasted red pepper aioli and grilled romaine

These burgers are stuffed with roasted red peppers (you can buy a jar at Trader Joe's), chopped black olives, red onion, arugula and a tablespoon of tahini. Burger brainchild and tahini sauce recipe here.
Onion rings are dipped in egg and then a mixture of coconut flour, almond meal, garlic powder, paprika and salt before baked at 400 for 20 minutes (flipped halfway through). The inspiration for those was this recipe. 

Notice our seltzer-filled wine glasses :)

Day 18 - Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken with steamed broccoli and carrots on coconut oil sautéed cabbage and broccoli rice

Original recipe here - sans the honey obvi.

Day 19 - Taco pie with a plantain crust, topped with salsa, guac and cilantro

Day 20 - Leftover Taco Pie (also known as "mexican meat mountain")

My "meat mountain" looks nothing like the beauty created by Kristin at LivingLovingPaleo. Her recipe can be found here

Day 21 - Basil garlic meatballs with tomato sauce and spiralized zucchini (zoodles)

Day 22 - Grilled London Broil with baked delicata squash "fries" and a salad

Day 23 - Potato almond gnocchi with basil almond pesto, arugula and mushrooms with Trader Joe's Garlic Herb Chicken Sausage

This was time consuming. But oh, what an indulgent and delicious meal!  I used this recipe as a guide. Leftovers were eaten with scrambled eggs for breakfast EVERY DAYYY until they were gone. SO good. 

Day 24 APPETIZER - Prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe and figs

Day 24 - Baked chicken wings with red pepper aioli, baked dill carrots fries and garlic pepper potato skins and romaine leaves

After a steep 5 mile hike, we were hungry! Plus it was Sunday, soooo chicken wings. I saved the potato skins from the day before (gnocchi), tossed them in olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper and baked them for these tasty crispy potato skins. The drumsticks were not eaten this evening- I chopped up the meat and mixed with some Primal Kitchen mayo, curry powder, diced apples and onions for a chicken salad for the upcoming week's lunches.




Day 25 - Slow cooker bacon beef chili with sweet potato toast and guac

My boyfriend's parents were in town to join us for this meal. His mom told me this was the best chili she'd ever had --- and she lives in Texas!!!!!! This will now be my go-to chili recipe.
Also - sweet potato toast.. genius. You won't miss bread.
I used this recipe by Paleo Paparazzi as my guide, adding some extra veggies (chopped carrots) and using a heavy hand on the spices.


Day 26 BREAKFAST - Sweet Potato Toast with Raw Cruchy Almond Butter (Trader Joe's), sliced banana and a sprinkle of cinnamon

If you have a toaster, these are as easy as popping in 1/4 inch slice of sweet potato into the machine for two rounds. I don't have one - so I bake at 425 for 25ish minutes, flipping halfway through.




Day 26 - Spaghetti Squash Meatball Casserole

Satisfied any and all Italian food cravings! I mostly followed (that's right - I followed a recipe - kinda) this recipe from LivingLovingPaleo. I don't measure my spices (why dirty another spoon?!) and could not, for the life of me, find sugar-free pepperoni so I subbed a few slices of prosciutto. I also forgot to buy parsley, so I used basil instead.

Day 27 - Leftover Meatball Casserole




Day 28 - Roasted Carrot Thai soup with Asian Meatballs

Recipe inspiration found here.

Day 29 - Leftover soup and meatballs




Day 30 - Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken with Delicata Squash and Dill Carrot Fries

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd we made it!



Day 31!!!! - Snickers Pie

You better believe this lady and her man earned some dessert!! Instead of ransacking the Wholefoods dessert section and shocking our cleansed systems, I made this healthy yet sinful pie. The only non-compliant ingredients were coconut syrup and, of course, the much-craved and well-deserved dark chocolate. Recipe inspiration found here.

And remember - you are NOT on a diet..... you are changing your life. :)Good luck on your journey!

This is how I roll...

 ...bun-less. Just because I no longer eat bread or cheese didn't mean I wanted to give up my love for burgers and fries. It's my most frequent craving! Though I can no longer consider myself a connoisseur or local critic, I can confidently say I've gotten really creative when it comes to what I slather on top, sandwich it between, or serve alongside. Bread and cheese aside (or rather afar - like not even in the house), burger night at our house is damn good! I present to you some photographic inspiration of the healthified savory ground rounds I've been grilling and devouring over here.

Grilled ground sirloin on a grilled paprika eggplant round topped with cilantro avocado mash and grilled onions. Served with homemade dill pickle ribbons and grilled zucchini fries (seasoned with Trader Joe's 21 seasoning)

Meat, grilled portobello, avocado mash and grilled onions meet a cabbage leaf (less messy!) and baked sweet potato fries

Grilled portobello topped with cashew cheese (purchased at Whole Foods), turkey burger with Tessamae's ketchup (seriously, order this stuff) and grilled onions. Served with cilantro chili jicama  slaw and baked carrot fries

Blurry photo, sloppy meal (ie. make sure you have napkins. Lots of napkins). Pile of baby kale, grilled portobello, burger, homemade roasted red pepper sauce (I'll post that recipe one of these days) and grilled eggplant round. Served with cucumber wedges and Tessamae's BBQ sauce

Late night out at the bar means I'm coming home sober and hungry. I said no to the watering hole tater tots but said yes to this midnight meal. Trader Joe's Frozen Turkey patties on salad greens, garlic avocado mash, homemade picked onions and cucumbers served with spiralized sweet potato strings fried in coconut oil. YUM! 

Hmmm... what day will be burger day this week?!  (cough... tomorrow... cough...)

Mango Jalapeno Cilantro Turkey Meatballs

It's been "Mango Mania" at Trader Joe's recently. Not quite sure what that means exactly... but the store is decked out in orange spheres and their "Fearless Flyer" newsletter included more mango-flavored products than I'd ever imagined. Mango dish soap, mango dog food, mango EVERYTHING!! So it was no surprise when I got a hankering for the sumptuous tropical fruit. I remembered a recipe from my favorite paleo food blogger, The Whole Smiths, and decided to recreate her masterpiece (original recipe here). She said these meatballs are one of her most popular recipes to date! I'm just glad they were delicious as the recipe makes enough for a week!

Served on butter lettuce with avocado and broccoli slaw mixed with my spicy ranch dressing

Mango Jalapeno Cilantro Turkey Meatballs
2.5lbs ground turkey (I mixed a lb of lean with an lb of organic)
1/2 onion, minced
1 cup minced mangos (I bought frozen and put a cup in the fridge to defrost)
5 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 minced jalapenos (how much heat you want? Use one if you're a wimp)
3 eggs
1 cup almond flour
1/2 tbsp chipotle powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper

Oven at 375
Lay out foil on cookie sheets
Mix all ingredients in a bowl
Form mixture into meatballs (I made them rather large - 16 total)
Bake for 25 minutes until beginning to brown
Done!