Fall! Butternut Squash and Apple Bisque

I didn't even adapt this from anything - GO ME! I really like how it turned out - this is a sweet soup with fall flavors.

What You Need:
2 medium butternut squash
4-6 apples (I used 6 small McIntosh seconds)
5 cups organic low sodium chicken stock
1 sweet onion
1 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 cup raw honey
1 cup heavy cream
EVOO

What to Do:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cut butternut squash in half and place cut side up on baking sheets in oven for approx. 45 minutes.

Core, peel apples and cut in half, cut onion into quarters. Toss lightly in EVOO and place on baking sheet along with squash (after already spending 45 minutes in the oven). Brush squash with EVOO as well.

Sprinkle approx 1/2 tsp (more or less, depending on taste) each of spices (minus cayenne pepper) on squash, apples, and onion.

Place all in oven for another 20 minutes (less if using softer apples - mine made applesauce almost after 20 minutes!)

Add chicken stock to large pot. When squash, apples, and onion are done, scoop seeds out of squash and remove skin - you may have to use gloves or let cool! I found this easy to do by just cutting the squash in half and peeling each side off the back.

Cube squash, and add along with apples and onion to chicken stock. Using hand blender, blend until desired consistency. Add honey and heat to a boil.

Add remaining spices and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Finally, reduce heat and mix in cream. Garnish with chives, sour cream, greek yogurt, whatever your preference!



Enjoy!

Sinless Cupcakes

I adapted this recipe from Paleo.com
Great treat that is guilt free!

What You Need:
Batter:
1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
1/2 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
6 Eggs
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract

Chocolate Frosting
1 Cup Dark Chocolate
2 Tbs Honey
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract
Pinch Sea Salt

What to Do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry batter ingredients in bowl and mix. Combine wet ingredients in bowl and, using hand mixer, mix. While mixing, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Pour into greased cupcake pan. Makes 12.
Bake for 18 minutes.

Frosting: Melt coconut oil in small saucepan. Add chocolate, vanilla, honey, and salt. Mix thoroughly, transfer to food processor or blender (make sure this can fit in the freezer) and let sit in freezer until it has a thick consistency (about 10 minutes). This took me a few times of taking it out, re melting in the microwave, and re freezing to get it right but if the top is somewhat hard and you catch it just before the bottom hardens, it is perfect. Keep an eye on it every few minutes.
Remove from freezer and whip in food processor.

Allow cupcakes to cool completely before adding frosting. I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to decorating frosting.. I plopped a blob on each and swirled a fork around it to create the rose-like look. Better than nothing!

Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper and Smoked Gouda Bisque!

I tried REALLY HARD to make this like my favorite from The Whistling Kettle in Ballston Spa, NY, as it is my favorite! I don't think it came out as thick, and there are definitely some discrepancies but I think it turned out great!



What You Need:

6-7 Red Bell Peppers, cored and sliced into strips
2-3 Green Bell Peppers, cored and sliced into strips
1 Cup Baby Carrots
1 Red Onion
1 Yellow Onion
Cloves of 1/2 Garlic Bulb
1/3 Cup EVOO, divided
1 Large Can Whole Tomatoes - Peeled
6 oz tomato paste
48oz Organic Vegetable Stock
1/8 Cup Brown Rice Flour
1/3 Cup Marsala Wine
2 Cups Heavy Cream
2 Tbs Butter
8 oz Smoked Gouda Cheese, shredded

Spices:
6 Tsp Paprika
3 Tsp Oregano
3 Tsp dried Basil
4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper (less for less spicy)
4 Tsp salt
2 Tsp pepper
2 tsp White Pepper
4 Bay Leaves

What to Do:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread peppers onto baking sheet and brush with EVOO. Roast for 15 minutes. Mix peppers and broil on low for another 15-18 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine carrots, onions, and garlic in food processor until chopped fine. Melt butter in large sauce pan and add remaining EVOO. Transfer carrot-onion mixture to saucepan, cook on medium with bay leaves for 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves.
Chop tomatoes in food processor and add to sauce pan. Mix in flour, peppers, and vegetable stock. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add Spices. Puree with hand blender until desired consistency.

Mix in gouda until melted and remove from heat. Stir in cream (do not let boil).

My favorite is to top with scallions and a little extra gouda.
Enjoy!

Post Workout Chocolate (Almond) Milk

Great healthy alternative to chocolate milk, Gatorade, or "Recovery" drinks!


I started Insanity today and also am coupling the p90x diet into it. I am not into sugary drinks, so the "Recovery" drink they recommend is not something I would purchase. I read somewhere, however, that chocolate milk works as a substitute. Being that this is also super full of bad sugars, I decided to come up with my own! This gives even more protein than regular milk, without the sugar that can make you crash!

8oz unsweetened Almond milk
1/2 Tbs plain cocoa powder
1 tsp raw honey

Tip: Mix honey, cocoa powder, and just a little almond milk until well blended before adding to milk, unless you have one of those awesome shake cups!

Chocolate Blueberry Energy Smoothie

This smoothie does everything I need: satisfies my sweet tooth, gives me energy, gives me the PROTEIN I need for a quick workout (30 mins or less of cardio) and fills me up!

What You Need:
1 cup frozen blueberries
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate Chobani yogurt
1 Tbs Chia seeds
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs peanut butter

What to Do:

Blend ingredients, and enjoy! (Serves 2)

Ahh.. Finally a Pesto I Love!

I have made pesto so many different ways .. with lots of tweaking to get here... finally I have a recipe for you

(This makes a lot of pesto for freezing for a large group .. approx 16 oz so depending how much you like on your pasta this makes a ton! I also learned you can store this in a jar in the fridge as long as you top it with oil each time you store it.)

What You Need:
Between 5-6 oz (weighed) fresh basil leaves
1 cup pine nuts, roasted on the stove
2 cloves garlic
1.5 cups EVOO
3/4 cup fresh grated parmesan or romano cheese
1/2 stick organic unsalted butter (softened, slightly melted)
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
Pasta of choice

What to Do:
Combine all ingredients minus the oil and basil in a food processor or blender. Blend, slowly add in basil and oil, blend until desired consistency is acquired. Serve over pasta of choice.

I use brown rice penne with roasted whole cherry tomatoes and top with a bit more cheese :)

Enjoy!

More Pizza!

This was adapted from Toni Cisnero's recipe :)

What You Need:
1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
Fresh basil leaves
2 egg whites
3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup organic red sauce
Crushed red pepper flakes (if desired)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Toppings of choice, I used spinach, sauteed red bell pepper, and sauteed baby bella mushrooms

What to Do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In bowl, combine turkey, egg whites, seasonings (not basil leaves) and oats. Mix well with hands.
Spread in a pizza-like fashion on a pizza stone or cookie sheet. I puffed up the edges for a "crust."
Bake for 20 minutes.


Add sauce, then layer cottage cheese on, then add toppings. I added basil, then spinach leaves, then mushrooms and peppers. In the future I may add more cottage cheese on top to melt in the toppings!

Bake for another 10 minutes, and enjoy!

Cilantro EVOO Infused Chicken over Creamed Spinach

What You Need:
(This is for two servings of 5oz each chicken)
Marinade:
2 TBS Cilantro & Roasted Onion (or similar) EVOO (Or improvise with adding your own cilantro and onion) I buy mine at my favorite store (I know I have mentioned them): Saratoga Olive Oil Company where you can also order online!
1 TBS freshly minced garlic
1 TBS raw honey
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp celtic sea salt
1/8 cup lime juice (I recommend cutting the lime juice in half if you are not putting this over a bed of creamed spinach)

10oz chicken (5oz breast per person)

Creamed Spinach:
This was completely improv because I needed to get rid of spinach before it went bad, and I kept adding to it so I am not 100% sure of the amounts, but feel free to substitute for your own recipe, or substitute certain ingredients of mine into yours to make it a bit more healthy :).
Keep in mind coconut flour is very dense, use approx 1/2 the amount you would normal flour.
1/4 cup organic whole milk
2 tbs butter
2 TBS coconut flour
1 6oz bag baby spinach leaves
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

What To Do:
Chicken:
Place chicken breasts in baking dish. Combine all ingredients for marinade in a bowl, mix thoroughly, and add to chicken. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes. I grilled mine on the George Foreman grill.

Spinach:
Make a roux with butter and coconut flour in a double boiler. Add milk and allow to thicken. Add handfuls of spinach as they fit until wilted... looking like a cream spinach. Add spices as desired.

I know this sounds really caveman but I don't know how else to describe making creamed spinach! I have never looked at a recipe. If anyone has any tips please let me know!

Add grilled chicken over creamed spinach, and enjoy!

Oat-Almond Raisin Cookies

What You Need:
2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup honey
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
2 organic eggs
1/2 cup sliced almonds (or walnuts)
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbs melted butter

What to Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind oats in food processor until mostly ground, I left it with a few whole oats. Combine remaining ingredients and add to cookie sheet. Makes approximately 16 cookies.

Bake for 15 minutes, enjoy!

Strawberry Salad - Two Variations!

This salad has been one of my favorite summer lunches for the past 4 years. I never get sick of it! And the thing about a salad is that you can really make it however you want it. I will give you some guidelines to what I have found to be two delicious variations of a summer strawberry salad.

Version 1

Strawberry Pecan Salad

You will need:

1 cup romaine lettuce

1 cup baby spinach leaves

1 oz crushed pecans

1-2oz goat cheese

4 slices large strawberries

2 tbs Dressing of choice - try something with oil and vinegar base and watch the ingredients, or make your own. I found a raspberry walnut that I like

Protein of choice - I like to add grilled shrimp! 3oz

Salt and pepper if you wish for taste

How I layer: 

Mix the greens and dressing in a bowl. This will allow for the cheese to stick. Add cheese, mix again. Place strawberries, shrimp (or other) and pecans on top. Sprinkle with some extra goat cheese. Enjoy!

If you are mixing in other veggies, I would do this at the stage where you mix in the goat cheese.

Easy!

Version 2

Strawberry Basil Salad

You will need:

1 cup romaine lettuce

1 cup baby spinach leaves

4 fresh basil leaves, shredded

1-2oz goat cheese

4 slices large strawberries

2 tbs dressing of choice - I used traditional balsamic and a tuscan herb EVOO from http://www.saratogaoliveoil.com/main/index.php <-- This place is amazing. If you live around Saratoga or Burlington or come visit me or are just in the area, you need to go!

Protein of choice - I like grilled chicken - 3 oz

Salt and pepper if you wish for taste

Layer the same way as above, replacing the basil with pecans.

Spinach-Egg Quinoa Breakfast

This is a perfect energy booster for the day.. I make this and last a good 4-5 hours before I have to remind myself that it's lunchtime because I am still very satisfied from breakfast!



What You Need:
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
2 large eggs
1 cup baby spinach (uncooked)
1 TBS EVOO
1 clove fresh garlic, minced

What To Do:
In a small frying pan, fry your eggs with salt and pepper to taste if you prefer.
In a larger frying pan, heat EVOO, add garlic. Sautee briefly, add spinach and quinoa and sautee until spinach is wilted and quinoa begins to slightly brown and crisp. You may also add salt and pepper to taste, if you prefer, I originally adapted this recipe from one that did not include garlic and I find that the garlic gives it plenty of flavor without having to add salt or pepper. This morning I also added a a quarter of a cup of baby bella mushrooms - delicious!

Enjoy!

Hot Kale Salad

This recipe I adapted from my pal Laura Gersten!

What You Need:
Approx. 1/2 head of Kale
2-3 oz Goat Cheese (crumbled)
Veggies of your choice, I used:
-1 cup snap peas
- 1/2 cup red peppers
- 1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1/2 Yellow onion, chopped
1-2 Garlic cloves, minced
Olive Oil
Water
Wok/Large pan
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 lb Meat/Protein of choice - I use shrimp
Parsley (optional)

What To Do:
Put an inch or two of water in a large sauce pan and steam Kale (I chop mine into bite-sized pieces first) until it is cooked down to your liking (I wait until it is very wilted)
Meanwhile, heat oil in your pan and saute garlic and onion until soft, add peppers and shrimp. Cook until shrimp are ALMOST pink. Add snap peas and mushrooms (similar to stir fry - don't want to overdo your veggies!) Add some salt and pepper to taste to both your veggie/shrimp mix and the kale.

In a 2 bowls, separate the kale, and serve veggies/shrimp on top. Add 1-1/2 oz of goat cheese to each dish.

Serve with chopped parsley on top if you wish, and enjoy!

Quinoa Stir-Fry

Quinoa is a lovely little treasure I have lately discovered. There are so many different uses for it, one being stir-fry as a substitute for rice. Here's a description, if you haven't seen it before: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=142&tname=foodspice
It has become a staple in my kitchen, I enjoy it much more than brown rice.

What You Need:
1 cup quinoa
1/2 Sweet Onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Veggies of your choice, I used:
  1 cup Snap Peas
  4 oz Sliced White Mushrooms
  1/2 Bell pepper, chopped
Coconut oil
EVOO of your choice
Ground ginger
8 oz of Meat of choice -  I used garlic and pepper marinated steak tips

What To Do:
Cook quinoa according to instructions.

Put coconut oil in pan. Saute vegetables in order of what takes the longest.. that is the key to stir fry! You have to tailor your stirring and frying to the ingredients you are using. I use the onion and the garlic first because I like them soft and want the flavors to infuse in everything else. Then I add peppers because they are the most dense. I also add some ginger white balsamic from my favorite store: Saratoga Olive Oil Company and the ground ginger. Next mushrooms, then finally the snap peas.

Side note: if you are like me and are a fan of "don't crowd your mushrooms" .. do them separate and add them last.

Serves 2.

Better (for you) Than Reeces!

Healthy Peanut Butter Cups!


Just please learn from my mistakes! I have made these multiple times now, MOST times they come out delicious. Little did I know that chocolate is a thermo plastic substance.... I had no idea what this meant. My chocolate that I had melted hardened a bit and I put it back on the stove, thinking I could re-melt it. Didn't happen. THEN just as I'm getting really frustrated.. my boyfriend says "are you sure chocolate isn't a thermo plastic substance?"

In my irritated state I wanted to hear nothing of his definitions and looked it up online. Chocolate falls in to this category. I am sure that some of you are more experienced with desserts and have found out one way or another that chocolate does not re-melt once you melt it... I, however, have never much been into baking or dessert making. I made them anyway, but you better believe I will always make sure to have my cups prepared with peanut butter before melting the chocolate!

This is one instance where my love for efficiency did NOT come in handy at all.

What You Need:
3/4 cup of LB's peanut butter (a few posts down)
6 TBS raw honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 - 1/4 cup coconut oil (if you made my peanut butter with the coconut oil as suggested, and do not like coconut flavor, you may want to add less than the recommended 1/4 cup)
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
4 oz unsweetened chocolate - that's the key to making it good for you! NOT dark or semi-sweet
Double boiler or heat safe bowl
Mini muffin cups

What To Do:
Combine peanut butter, 2 tsp honey, vanilla, coconut oil, and chopped peanuts. Drop a teaspoon into each of the mini muffin cups.
*Should make approx 24 minis. If you do not have minis or want larger cups, use about double the amount to make 12

Heat water in double boiler (or if you do not have one, heat water in pot and place heat resistant bowl on top) and place chopped chocolate in the top portion. Stir until melted, adding in remaining honey as you'd like. I now add around 2 tsp.. but if you like them sweeter use all 4. MAKE SURE your cups are filled with peanut butter before doing this! Quickly drop about a tsp of chocolate onto the cups (double if using large) and place in freezer.

I refuse to show you a picture of my awful mistake - but they looked great before I hardened my chocolate!

(pic is recipe doubled)

Enjoy!

PALACINTAs :)

Hi Ma! Adapted your palacinta recipe to make it 100% healthy .. go me!

Everyone else ... palacinta is fancy for "awesome crepe with good stuff inside"

What You Need:
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup coconut flour
1 cup rice flour (preferably brown)
4 tsp honey or stevia
1 container cottage cheese
2 cups raw whole milk
1 tsp salt
coconut oil or raw butter
A frying pan
An oven
Self control

What To Do:


To Make Crepes:
In mixing bowl mix 4 eggs and 2 cups milk. Add 2 tsp honey. Mix in coconut flour and salt. Mix in rice flour.

NOTE: You CANNOT substitute for both cups of coconut flour.. it is too dense and does not hold together well enough. You CAN, however, if you are not trying to be super healthy, substitute for 2 cups regular flour. I don't recommend it, but it's your ass, not mine.

Heat a small amount of coconut oil or butter in pan on medium low. Add 1/4 cup of batter to pan to make a thin, large crepe. Cook through. You can flip and brown the other side if you feel like it.

To Make Filling:

Combine remaining egg, honey (or stevia - if using stevia use half the amount) and vanilla. Spread on crepes and roll. You can add other things if you want .. if you prefer fruit, add it on top or add it alone. Keep in mind you can still top it later. I like mine with just the filling- John (my boyfraaand if you didn't know) wanted to add strawberries.

 Once they are all rolled up - layer them in a baking dish. It is fine to layer them on top of each other. Add dollups of real butter, sprinkle with some stevia or stevia blend and pop in the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes. I made them the night before I wanted to eat them so I am just going to pop them in the oven for a few minutes in the morning.. but otherwise they are good to enjoy immediately!

Makes approx 8 servings of 2-3 Palacintas. Will depend on how thin you make yours. I made them a little thicker so it holds the filling.. that and since the flour holds differently than regular flour you may need them thicker in order to keep them together when you flip it on the pan.

Enjoy :)

Coconut Flour Pizza

You are going to think I am insane if you try to do this. You are going to be like "that chick is bat shit crazy and she is not my friend anymore for telling me to try this awful recipe." If you are being strict on eating healthy, though .. this isn't a bad alternative. I'd like to try to improve it further :)

I adapted this from someone else's recipe that I thought was crazy. I mixed it up and made mine a little different.

This is what mine looked like:

What You Need: (ingredients for  crust only)

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup coconut flour

2 oz parmesan cheese

4 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

oregano, salt, garlic powder

parchment paper

An oven

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together eggs and greek yogurt until well-blended. Add coconut flour and mix until there are no longer lumps. Add baking powder, a tsp or so of oregano, parmesan cheese, and mix thoroughly. 

Take the ridiculously thin mixture.. this will NOT look like dough... and place on parchment paper (if you haven't figured out that you will also need a baking sheet... I have nothing to say to you). Anyway.. place the parchment paper on the baking sheet and make a pizza-like looking shape on it with the mixture. This will literally look like egg on a plate. Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

TIP: try rolling up the sides of the parchment paper to hold in the mixture. It will hold on it's own  .. but it may help if you like a thicker crust.

When you take it out of the oven - it should look something like this:

Add toppings of choice. I chose sweet italian sausage, organic red sauce, raw mozzerella cheese, green peppers, white onion, and mushrooms.

4 servings. Obviously you will probably eat 2 of these servings.... as healthy as it is because you can't even feel guilty about it.. so plan accordingly and make enough for your bad self. 

OH and another tip - this pizza is best eaten with a fork and knife as the bottom doesn't get too hard.. especially if you load it up like I did.

White Bean and Chicken Chili

What You Need:
2 Tbs coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
14.5 oz organic chicken broth
2 diced green fresh chiles
15 oz can white beans
2 ears fresh corn
1 lb diced, cooked chicken meat (shredded for a heavier consistency)
2 large cans diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced

Spices I use:
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp ground cumin (I put in lots more than that!)
1/2 tsp coriander seed
salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper for spice

What To Do:
Heat coconut oil in large sauce pan, cook garlic and onion until soft.
Stir in broth, tomatoes, chiles, and spices. Bring to a boil, simmer for 10 mins.
Add corn, chicken, beans. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

If you are not following the BD - a good tip is to use SALSA VERDE instead of one can of the tomatoes - good flavor. I will not be doing this tonight but it is what I normally do - I will let you know how it turns out!

If you'd like, add approx 1 oz of raw cheese on top.

Makes about 8 servings.

The first staple - PEANUT BUTTER!

Easy Peanut Butter :)

What you need:
2 cups raw peanuts
1.5 TBS coconut oil
Raw honey
Salt

What to do:
Slowly pour 2 cups (or 1.5 cups if you want chunky PB) peanuts and coconut oil in the food processor while it is on. Once it is to a smooth consistency begin to add honey in the same fashion.
Taste-test and add as you like :)
If making chunky PB - add remaining .5C and pulse until desired texture.

Enjoy :).