Smoothie Heaven

23 Apr

For the past month I’ve been making smoothies for breakfast. This isn’t anything totally new in my routine, but up until very recently I was super reliant on protein powder. This is great when you’re in a pinch for a FAST high protein meal, but let’s face it, it’s not very natural, full of sugar and fillers and calories. So I wanted to try something new, something healthier and more natural.

Meet: the Spinach Breakfast Smoothie Family

I don’t have photographs of these bad boys because lets face it, I make them at night, pour into a cup, and they look rather green and brown by the next day. But I swear, these are tasty treats and I truly believe it’s helped me lose a little weight, or at least bloat. Here are my favorites:

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

  • 1 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 banana
  • 1 Tbsp Dutch Processed Cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1 – 2 handfuls baby spinach

Combine all ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie

  • 1 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup strawberries, hulled
  • 1 Tbsp PB2 peanut butter powder
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1 – 2 handfuls baby spinach

Combine all ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.

Tropical Joy Smoothie

  • 1 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 banana
  • 1/4 cup strawberries, hulled
  • 1/3 cup frozen mango chunks
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1 – 2 handfuls baby spinach

Combine all ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie

  • 1 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 banana
  • 1 Tbsp Dutch Processed Cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup frozen cherries
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1 – 2 handfuls baby spinach

Combine all ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.

Coffee Boost Smoothie

  • 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 cup strong coffee or two shots of espresso, cooled
  • 1 banana
  • 1 Tbsp Dutch Processed Cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1 – 2 handfuls baby spinach

Combine all ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.

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Raw Oreos

23 Mar

Eating at gatherings oftentimes means bringing your own food. It’s just the nature that goes with the GF beast. So for a St. Patrick’s Day feast at a friends, I brought my own shamrock inspired GF pizza and probably the healthiest dessert I’ve ever made. But they were delicious, and I don’t care what anyone says!

I bring you gluten free, paleo, sugar free, egg free, no bake Oreos! Here’s what you need -

For the cookie

  • 1 1/2 cups almond meal (I used Trader Joe’s)
  • 1/2 cup cocoa (King Arthur’s Dutch Processed)
  • 1/4 cup agave
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt

In a food processor, or in a large bowl, combine the almond meal, cocoa and salt together. Add the agave and vanilla and mix well until a ball forms.

For a no mess, easy clean up, line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. Roll 1-inch balls, then gently flatten. You need sets of two so if you have any leftovers, eat it! Place the flattened balls on the cookie sheet and pop into the fridge while you make the filling.

 

For the fillings

  • 1 cup shredded coconut
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 – 2 tbsp agave
  • 6 – 8 mint leaves (optional, but this was St. Patrick’s Day!)

In a food processor (yes you really need one now), combine the above ingredients until a butter / paste forms. Using a butter knife, spread about 1 tsp on each cookie, then press cookies together, frosting side in the middle.

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Easy Goat Cheese Alfredo Sauce

13 Mar

My goodness, has it really been two months?! A lot has happened. James proposed. We’re planning a wedding. I’ve watched almost three seasons of Big Love. I’ve been cooking with gluten free pasta from Italy.

Anyway, this week I have been battling a horrible cold. My entire head feels like a balloon is inside ready to swell and pop. So I’ve been eating a lot of soup. Lentil soup. Pumpkin bisque soup. Chicken soup. Tonight I could eat no more soup. That means pasta. And I decided rather than oil and cheese, or marinara sauce, I’d try and make an Alfredo sauce.

Here’s what you need -

  • 4 ounces heavy cream (Trader Joe’s has a shelf stable heavy cream. It’s pretty awesome)
  • 1/2 cup shredded Romano cheese
  • 2 ounces crumbled goat cheese
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 6 ounce jar of roasted red peppers, diced (more if you like, or have)
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

In a saucepan, heat olive oil and add the roasted red peppers. Stir quickly, then add the heavy cream and lower heat to barely a flame. Add the cheeses, garlic powder and pepper. Let melt together, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or so. Toss with pasta and fresh vegetables.

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Roast

6 Jan

I’m back! The holidays were a whirlwind of excitement, travel and TONS and TONS of food. January 1 I started counting calories again. January 4 and January 5 were completely shot as I filled my face with food. Oops.

I made the best roast ever for our Christmas Eve dinner. This roast was a project. Not because it’s a difficult recipe, but because we could not find said roast in the store for a reasonable price. Bon Appetit recommended a three pound center cut tenderloin roast. The first place we went to find the roast it was $40 PER POUND. The next place, it was $20 per pound. Finally, god bless Market Basket, we found it for $15 a pound. And thankfully my mom went into Market Basket to buy it because I have a serious phobia when it comes to that store. So. many. people. If the blog “People of Market Basket” doesn’t exist yet, someone should start it. There are some serious characters.

Okay, so anyway, we went all out and chopped down our own herbs at the farm’s green house, but no need to go all out. Here’s the original recipe and here’s what you need:

  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme
  • 2 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pink peppercorns
  • 1 3-pound center-cut beef tenderloin at room temperature
  • 1 bunch fresh rosemary
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
The morning of, combine the garlic, thyme, salt, black pepper and pink pepper. Remove the roast from its packaging and have a few pieces of plastic wrap ready on the table (you’ll be rewrapping the roast, so cut accordingly).
Rinse the roast, pat dry and then rub the garlic mixture on all sides. Rewrap in plastic wrap and pop into the fridge to soak in the flavors for a few hours. One hour before you plan to begin cooking, remove roast from the fridge and let come down to room temperature. This is critical.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Scatter rosemary on the bottom of your roasting pan. Melt the butter and olive oil together in a cast iron skillet and sear the roast on all sides. I did this on an electric stove, and it took about 10 minutes. This most likely takes less time on a gas stove.
Transfer the meat to the pan and roast for about 30 minutes or until your meat thermometer registers 125 for a medium-rare.
Let the roast sit for 15 minutes before slicing.
NOTE – for some reason, 140 produced a very rare roast, so I sliced it up, popped it onto a cookie sheet, and let cook for another 5 minutes in the oven. It was perfect.

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Paleo NUT FREE Gingerbread Cookies

22 Dec

Guys. Seriously. There is no recipe out there for paleo nut free gingerbread cookies. I was in shock. Really?! No one has ever done this?! Someone must have. But I couldn’t find their recipe. And I barely have gluten free baking down, let alone grain free baking. It’s a whole new world.

BUT it’s possible and the results are pretty yummy if I do say so myself! Plus, this would be a great recipe to do with kids because the dough doesn’t fall apart easily. So here’s what you need:

  • 1 cup sunflower seeds (unsalted, dry roasted)
  • 1 cup pepitas
  • 1 cup coconut flour
  • 3/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 3 Tbsp coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350F. In a food processor, pulse your sunflower seeds into a coarse flour. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Next, pulse your peptias into a coarse flour. Transfer to the same bowl.

Add the coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda. Stir to combine.

On the stove, heat 1/2 cup of molasses until it boils. Remove from the heat and add the maple syrup and coconut oil. Stir until everything is combined (and melted if your coconut oil wasn’t already melted beforehand).

Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix with a wooden spoon.

In batches, roll dough out between parchment paper until 1/4″ thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes.

Let cool and decorate! I used honey, coconut shreds, dark chocolate and raisins, but any combination of dried fruit would work too.

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Beef Stew Inspired Risotto

9 Dec

I love risotto. From the first time I laid eyes on it when I was 10 years old until today. It’s a comfort food. You can give it almost any flavor profile, and pack it full of veggies. I’ve made everything from butternut squash risotto to bacon apple risotto to shrimp and chicken and more. The one thing I have stayed far, far away from adding to risotto is beef. I don’t know why, it just seems weird to me.

But I take that back. We had leftover roast in the fridge, a lot of carrots and plenty of beef stock. It wasn’t something I would normally associate with this creamy rice dish, but then again, where’s the adventure in cooking if you don’t try it?

Furthermore, yesterday I came across a recipe on how to make risotto in the oven (i.e. less stirring!).

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 dutch oven (I used a 3.5 quart)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 – 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 4 – 5 medium carrots, pealed and cut width wise
  • 1 1/2 cups of arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 1 lb stew beef or roast, already cooked and cut into 1/2″ cubes

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Heat the dutch oven on the stove on medium, add your oil, then your onions. Cook until translucent, about 4 – 5 minutes. Add the carrots, and cook for another minute. Add in the thyme and garlic and stir for another minute until fragrant. Add in the rice, cook for another minute until it is coated.

Pour in the 4 cups of beef broth and let come to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once at a boil, put a lid on the dutch oven, and transfer it to the oven for 20 minutes. While this is cooking, cut up your meat. I used leftover roast. You could use stew beef already prepared, or you could quickly grill some steak and chop that up. Whatever is easiest for you.

Fifteen minutes in, add the beef and the wine. Cover and place back into the oven for the remaining five minutes.

Let sit for 5 – 10 minutes before serving.

 

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Pumpkin Pesto

8 Dec

Thanksgiving is over, work travel is over, so I’m back! The other night I came home from work exhausted (the 90 minute drive home might have had something to do with this). I scrapped all plans of going to yoga and decided to settle in for the night. Living with two people who are constant carnivores, I wanted to enjoy something less meaty. What I came up with was one of those grab things out of your fridge and make osmething. This just happened to be a really good recipe that resulted.

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 – 2 cups dry pasta (I used about 1 1/2 cups and that fed two of us with a leftover portion)
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 8 sage leaves, torn into smaller pieces
  • 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree

Boil water for your pasta and cook according to manufacturer instructions. I used Tinkyada. Once you put your pasta into the boiling water, start the pumpkin pesto.

Heat a medium saucepan on the stove on high. Drop in the butter, then lower the heat to low, and let the butter brown. This takes about 5 minutes and you’ll need to shake the pan occasionally to move the butter around. Add your sage leaves and let cook for an additional minute. Dump in your pumpkin and stir to combine with the butter. At this point your pasta should be done.

Drain the pasta and toss into the pan with the pumpkin pesto. Stir to coat evenly. Grate over some Romano cheese and enjoy!

(Please forgive my picture. I ate it all before I could snap a decent one!)

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