California Citrus Salad

I adapted this recipe to make it whole30 and whole30 AIP compliant. I tried making the dressing as well, but I decided it's easier to just use olive oil and lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. This recipe makes enough for 4, which is great because I can have it for dinner and then lunch the next day.

Ingredients: 

1 head of romaine lettuce chopped

4 clementine oranges

1/4 cup dry roasted pecans (omit if AIP)

1 large granny smith apple

4 dates chopped or 1/4 cup raisins

1 avocado

1/4 cup dried cranberries (omit for whole30 or AIP)

2 stems green onions chopped

1 lemon (quartered to squeeze onto salad)

olive oil to drizzle

salt

Directions:

Chop ingredients and place in bowl, except for avocado. Slice avocado and place on top of salad when plating. Drizzle lemon and olive oil onto salad. Salt to taste. 

If you plan to use this as a salad the next day, chop the apples and oranges and store them in a separate container. The citric acid in the oranges prevent the apples from turning brown.

Zucchini Herb Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cup cooked brown rice (i cook mine with chicken broth for additional flavor)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound zucchini, cubed

1 cup sliced green onions

3 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 teaspoons italian seasoning

1 teaspoon paprika

3 large roma tomatoes, chopped tomatoes

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese,

divided (optional)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet/wok over medium heat, and cook the zucchini, green onions, and garlic 5 minutes, or until tender. Season with salt, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Mix in the cooked rice, tomatoes, and 1 cup cheese. Continue to cook and stir until heated through. 

I found this recipe on Allrecipes and followed the comments section recommendations by made a few tweaks so it would be faster to make. I served it with Costco Rotisserie chicken. Instead of making a casserole, I just served it right out of the pan. Also, I didn't have time to make rice, so I used 1 bag of Trader Joe's frozen brown rice and added 2 Trader Joe's liquid chicken bullion packets directly to the wok.

Corn Chowder

Now for the soup on the right. My roommate made this delicious summer corn chowder, but I wanted to find a way to make it allergy-free.

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice (1 c.)

2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2 inch dice (3/4 c.)

8 sprigs thyme (FYI 1 sprig is not a leaf but an entire stem)

Salt and Pepper

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups frozen corn 

5 small fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2 in. thick slices

1/2 poblano chile, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 can coconut milk

Directions: 

• Add oil, onions, celery, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste to stockpot. Cook over medium-low heat until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes.
• Add corn, potatoes, and chile; cook until potatoes are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and discard thyme. Add coconut milk and simmer until soup is hot.

The recipe calls for crumbled bacon as a garnish, but I left it out because the soup was already so hearty.

Spicy Spinach Risotto

The original recipe called for chicken, but I skipped the chicken and used this as a side dish instead.

Modified from this recipe 

Ingredients

Rice: 

2 cups Arborio rice

1 tablespoon oil

4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth

Seasoning: 

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more to make it spicier)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

grated Parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Place oil in large glass bowl and microwave for 15 seconds. Pour rice into bowl and stir, coating rice with oil. Heat rice for 90 seconds. Pour 4 cups of chicken stock into bowl. Microwave rice for 9 minutes (on high). Stir rice. Microwave for 9 more minutes. 

2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the garlic and red pepper 1 minute, until garlic is golden brown. Mix in the parsley and cooked rice. Place spinach in the skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Thai Lime Coconut Chicken (or vegetables)

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes (see below for vegetarian substitution)
1 TBSP olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 tsp curry powder
1 14 oz can light or regular coconut milk
Zest and juice of 1/2 lime (use a 1/4 lime zest and hand squeeze half a lime, otherwise it's too limey)
1/4 cup green onion, chopped (optional)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken, garlic, and onion and cook chicken until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring for 1 minute, until it is fragrant. Add the coconut milk, lime juice and zest, bring to a simmer, and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat, stir in the green onions and cilantro.  Serve over rice.

For vegetarian/vegan, replace the chicken with the following:
10 baby golden yukon potatoes, cut in 1-inch cubes
12 baby carrots, sliced

adapted from this recipe

Rice Salad with Cannellini Beans & Olives

 

Ingredients:

1 cup jasmine rice

2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 – 15 oz can, rinsed and drained, black olives, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons capers

1/2 cup garlic stuffed green olives, roughly chopped

1 – 15 oz can, rinsed and drained Cannellini beans

a large bunch of green onions, sliced

a large bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 cups grape tomatoes, halved (optional)

2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions: 

1. Place chicken stalk and rice in rice cooker and cook until done (about 35 minutes).

2. Add black olives, capers, pimento stuffed olives, Cannellini beans, spring onions, parsley, grape tomatoes, to a large bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil. Serve warm, or room temperature.

adapted from this recipe

Empty the Fridge Pasta Salad (vegan)

I've been working crazy hours at work so I haven't been able to cook as much as I like. The produce I purchased 4th of July weekend really needed to be used, so, inspired by my friend Becki's pasta salad, I made this:

(sorry for the ghetto picture, this is 2nd day pasta salad I had for lunch at work today)

Really, you could use any vegetables you have on hand - the most important veggies are the onions and garlic since they give the most flavor.

Ingredients:

1/2 package of twirly brown rice pasta

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove chopped garlic

1 pkg asparagus

1/2 package crimini mushrooms

1 small onion diced

3 zucchinis

1 cube vegetable bullion

Dressing:

1/4 tsp seasoning (lemon pepper, Spike, or TJ's Everyday Seasoning)

1/2 tsp rice vinegar (or more to taste)

1 tsp olive oil (or more to taste)

Boil rice pasta for 7 minutes, drain and set aside in a medium bowl. Add olive oil, garlic, and asparagus to frying pan, saute for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add remaining vegetables and bullion to pan and saute until onions are translucent and vegetables are tender (about 3 minutes). Stir vegetables and seasoning into pasta. Add 1/4 tsp rice vinegar and 1/2 tsp olive oil to bowl and stir. Taste pasta and add remaining olive oil and vinegar (or more) if needed.

Pad Thai

Ingredients:

pad Thai rice noodles (about 4 cups cooked)

1 cup tofu (or meat of your choice)

1 zucchini, sliced

1 cup Thai peanut sauce (or more to taste)

3 green onions, chopped (optional)

handful of cilantro (optional)

Cook noodles according to "fried noodles" package directions. Put noodles, tofu, zucchini, and peanut sauce in wok or large frying pan and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until tofu and zucchini are slightly brown and noodles are tender. Top with green onions and cilantro.

Serves 4

Thai Peanut Sauce with Honey

(please pardon the poor quality photo, I liked this so much I started putting everything in containers for lunch

before I remembered to take a photo.) Original recipe can be found here

Ingredients

1/4 cup honey or agave nectar

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter (optional)

3 tablespoons soy sauce, Bragg's, or coconut aminos

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

Stir together the honey, peanut butters, soy sauce, rice vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Serve with pad Thai noodles, spring rolls, or rice.

Thai Green Curry with Potatoes and Zucchini

Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini

1 medium potato

1 can unsweetened coconut milk

2 to 3 TBSP green curry paste

2 large chicken breasts, cubed (can be replaced with 2 cups tofu or 2 additional potatoes)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth or water

2 TBSP low sodium soy sauce (or 1 TBSP regular soy sauce)

1 TBSP coconut sugar or brown sugar

a handful of fresh Asian or Italian basil leaves (optional)

Directions:

Slice zucchini in half lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces and set aside. Cut potato into 1 inch pieces. In medium saucepan, bring 1/2 can of coconut milk to boil over medium high heat. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the curry paste and cook 2 to 3 minutes until it is dissolved in the coconut milk. Add the chicken and potatoes and cook 2 minutes more, tossing to coat it with the sauce.

Add the remaining coconut milk, the chicken broth, zucchini, soy sauce, and palm sugar. Reduce heat to medium, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes until chicken is cooked, and potatoes and zucchini are tender, but firm. Remove from heat and stir in fresh basil leaves.

Serve over brown rice.

Serves 4 to 6.

Coconut Milk - Milk Chocolate Pudding

As you can tell by my posts of late, I have been obsessed with making a pudding that doesn't make me miss the sugar or the dairy. I think this recipe is the winner. It's really easy and it tastes like milk chocolate pudding. I can't wait to go home for a visit and make it for my sister!

(adapted from Couldn't Be Parve)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 cup water
2 cups Thai coconut milk
2 ounces* good quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine the cornstarch and sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in the water, continuing to whisk until smooth. Set aside. Place the coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes back to a simmer and thickens. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla.

Strain pudding through a fine-mesh strainer into a serving bowl or into a large measuring cup with a spout and pour into individual serving dishes. Cover pudding with plastic wrap. If you do not want pudding skin make sure the plastic is completely touching the surface of the pudding. To make pudding skin, simply pull plastic wrap over the top of the serving dish before refrigerating. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days. (I skipped this entire paragraph and ate the pudding warm - it was delicious!)

*If you want dark chocolate pudding, use 4 oz of chocolate

Makes 7, 1/2 cup portions

Healthy Breakfast Smoothie (2)

For a creamier version of the Healthy Breakfast Smoothie try this one:

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Almond Milk

5 medium Strawberries

1/2 medium Bananas

1/2 Zucchini

1 tbsp Ground Flax Seed

5 pieces Frozen Mango Chunks

1 cup (large handful) Baby Spinach

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:

Cut banana and zucchini into chunks and place everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 shake

Calories 229

Calories from Fat 59.0

Total Fat 6.56g

Sodium 136.78mg

Total Carbohydrate 40.51g

Dietary Fiber 10.49g

Sugars 24.35g

Protein 6.27g

Healthy Breakfast Smoothie (1)

I started thinking the other day, that I haven't been getting enough vegetables in my diet, but there is only so much I can buy without wasting it. I decided to try adding the vegetables I love for dinner, to my breakfast and see how I like it. Most of this recipe came from my mom, but I had some flax in my cupboard and decided to use it. The roasted flax seed overpowers the spinach and adds a nice nutty flavor, so it tastes like a fruit and nut smoothie, rather than a spinach smoothie.

Ingredients:

1 can Dole 100% Pineapple Juice (6 oz)

5 medium Strawberries

1/2 medium Bananas

1/2 Zucchini

1 tbsp Golden Roasted Flax Seed (whole seeds)

5 pieces Frozen Mango Chunks (Trader Joe's)

2 or 3 handfuls of baby spinach (I think that's about a cup of spinach)

Directions:

Cut banana and zucchini into chunks and place everything except spinach in a blender and blend until smooth. Then add spinach and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Calories: 269

Dietary Fiber: 6.15g

Protein: 4.75g

Peach-Plum Jam (Frozen)

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped fresh peaches (2 large peaches)

2 cups chopped fresh plums (about 9 plums)

Ball® freezer jam fruit pectin

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Peel and chop fruit. I like my jam more liquefied than chunky, so I pulsed the chopped fruit in my magic bullet. Combine lemon juice and fruit in a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then add Pectin, sugar, and cinnamon to the fruit. Stir for 3 minutes. Place jam in jars and allow to set for 30 minutes. Refrigerate or Freeze. Refrigerated jam can be stored for 3 weeks. Frozen jam can be stored for 1 year.

Butter-Cream Cheese Frosting

For the 4th of July I made some amazing cupcakes with some delicious frosting. This is the recipe I used:

Cupcakes:

1 box Betty Crocker triple chocolate fudge cake mix

1 small package instant chocolate pudding

Add dry pudding mix to dry cake mix. Prepare cake mix as instructed on the box.

Frosting:

1 stick of butter

8 oz cream cheese

16 oz powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Blend butter, cream cheese, and vanilla on medium speed in Bosch or Kitchenaid mixer for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 of the powdered sugar and mix for 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl and add remaining powdered sugar, beat for 2 minutes. The frosting was not as stiff as I usually like, but I didn't want to open up a new box of powdered sugar - and everyone loved the frosting, so I posted as I made it :)

Trader Joe's Apple Sausage Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

4 chicken-apple sausage links, broiled and sliced (trader joe's)

1 bag mushroom tortellini (trader joe's)

1 bag wheat rotini Pasta (trader joe's)

1 can sliced black olives

1 jar (small) sun dried tomatoes

1 jar artichoke hearts

1 pack of feta cheese

balsamic vinegar dressing to taste (start with 1 tsp)

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Stir in sausage, olives, tomatoes, artichoke hearts. Add Balsamic vinegar, until desired taste. Stir in Feta. Refrigerate until cool (4-6 hours). Can be made 24 in advance.

Pretzel Caramel Kisses

Ingredients:

1 bag pretzels snaps or tiny pretzels

1 pkg. M&Ms

1 pkg. Hershey Caramel Kisses** (unwrapped)

Directions:

Place parchment paper on cookie sheet. Place pretzels on sheet. Place a Kiss on each pretzel and bake at 170 degrees for about 5 minutes (Kisses will look shiny, but won't lose their shape). Remove from oven and promptly place an M&M on each pretzel, pressing into the melted chocolate. Allow to cool before serving. At room temperature, this takes SEVERAL hours. I would recommend making these the day before you plan on eating/delivering. Or you can put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process.

**you can use regular Kisses or Hugs. For Hug or Kisses preheat oven to 200 degrees and cook for 8 minutes.

Note: If you cook the caramel kisses at a higher temperature, they tend to crack and the caramel will end up everywhere.

Kristin's Cake Mix Cookies

1 cake mix

2/3 cup shortening

2 eggs

Mix together. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes

Heather's Cake Box Cookies

1 pkg cake mix

1 4oz pkg jello pudding (vanilla or chocolate depending on the cake mix)

2 eggs

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/4 c water

optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips with a chocolate cake mix

Mix together in bowl. Place dough on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 11 min.

Coconut Fruit Dip

**update** they now sell the cream of coconut in a squeeze bottle, so I use about 1/2 a bottle for the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 can cream of coconut (you find this in the drink mix isle, usually next to the margarita mix)

1 large pkg instant vanilla pudding (use it dry)

1 8 oz pkg cool whip (small size)

Using beaters, mix the cream of coconut and the pudding together. Let it sit in the refrigerator for about 30 min. Then add the cool whip. It can be a little grainy for a while, so it's best to make this the day before you plan to use it. I have made it up to 48 hours in advance and it's fantastic.