BACON!!!! 02-17-2013

Good evening friends, hope you had a wonderful weekend. 
Ok, not real bacon but pretty darn close!!
Its turkey bacon and it really looks like bacon.  It tastes like bacon.  It doesn't have any sugars added.  Its organic, nitrate free and no fillers.  I am so excited about this I looked through my new salad book just to find a recipe to use this in.  Its made by Applegate:

So this new salad book I bought is pretty awesome.  365 salad recipes, one for every day. 

The recipe I based tomorrows lunch off of is Shredded Kale Salad with Pancetta & Hard-Cooked Egg

It looks pretty good, I of course had to change it up a little bit.  It needed some healthifing :)

 

Kale Salad with bacon and eggs

 

This made 2 servings

 

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp coconut vinegar

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp parsley

3 hard cooked eggs

Premixed baby kale salad

 

Over medium heat cook bacon and garlic until toasted.  Degalze (pour liquid in pan and scrap bottom for crusty bits) pan with vinegar, olive oil and parsley.  Once cooled split into two servings.  I boiled my eggs.  You can steam them if you like.  Peel eggs and chop them up.  Split into two servings.  Place on top greens and enjoy! 

 



 

Chicken Caesar Salad 02-12-13

Good Evening! Hope your week is going well.

I went out to dinner this weekend and a friend ordered a Caesar salad.  It smelled so good I have been wanting one since.  Caesar dressing is so easy to make and I cant stand the bottled stuff it just doesn't do it justice.  So of course I made some today and thought you might like this easy very flavorful recipe. 

Caesar Dressing

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp anchovy paste
• 1 tsp Dijon
• 1 lemon, juiced
• ¼ c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ¼ c grated Parmesan
• 2 egg yolks

Yes this calls for 2 raw egg yolks.  I know some people freak about raw eggs but it adds so much creaminess to the dressing it is a must!! Place all ingredients in the food processor and pulse until mixed thoroughly and your done, yup that is all!  Enjoy.  It is so flavorful I used all of 1 tbsp for that giant salad with my home made croutons.  Those are another difficult recipe.  1 slice of Ezekial sesame bread cubed and sprayed with a little olive oil.  Now bake for 15-20 minutes at 350F and poof your done!  On top that bed of greens is one chicken breast brushed with garlic olive oil, seasoned and baked. 

And now I have lots of dressing to enjoy all week!  Lets just hope I don't eat it all tonight, I have had a very strong desire to dip my fingers in it many times already!

Crockpot beef and omelets 02-11-13

Good Morning!!!  Happy Monday.
This was breakfast this morning and it was so yummy I had to share. 

I have been having fun juicing lots of fruits and veggies, so I haven't had many recipes to post lately.  Juices like this....

 

Yesterday I threw some stuff in the crock-pot and it came out much better than I had expected.  I will definitely be making this again. 

 

 

 

Crock-pot Beef

1-1/2 to 2 lbs beef

1 red bell pepper chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 c green chili, chopped

Salt and Pepper and lots of my favorite no salt organic seasoning

 

Throw everything in crock-pot and cook on high for about 8 hours.  I know really difficult recipe ;)

 

 

So now I had this great beef, that I would have normally filled many tasty tortillas with and went to town, but they aren't the healthiest, who knew?  After picking at it all day yesterday I decided it would make a quick breakfast.  So this morning I made an egg omelet. 

 

Easy Beef filled omelet

1 egg + 1 egg white

2 oz beef

1-2 tbsp Guacamole, I get this from whole foods already made

 

Beat eggs together and pour into omelet pan that has been greased or sprayed.  Today I wiped a little coconut oil on the pan.  Cook eggs over medium heat, scraping the sides away from the pan a few times to cook as much as possible.  Flip, yes you can do this I promise!  Its not to hard just a little flip of your wrist.  If you make sure to cook as much of the egg as possible before It will plop right over quite easily.  Top with beef and flip half of the egg over on to it self. 

I served with some berries, cause I can't do breakfast without a little sweet ;)

 

Well I guess I should finish getting ready for work.......Have a great Monday!







Snacks lots and lots of snacks 2-6-13

Good evening friends!!

I have a snacking problem.  I could snacks all day and be completly happy without actually eating a full meal.  The problem with this is most of my favorite snacks are pretty carby snacks.  I have a few of my recent snack eats for you.  Protein balls which are based off Amazeballs from The Fittnesista one of my favorite blogs.  She has some great recipes. 

So these balls may be made in different flavors or combinations

Protein Balls

1/2 cup nuts (almonds or pecans are my favs) You can also substitute for 2tbsp nut butta
1 scoop protein (I like to try different flavors so buy single servings of my go to protein powder)
1 tbsp sweetner (honey or agave)
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp coconut, shredded unsweetened
Pinch sea salt and cinnamon

Place in food processor or blender and blend or pulse untile sticky enough to form balls.  This makes about 5 balls for me. 

Here are a few combinations I have tried so far:

 

My favorite food these days.....Pizza! 02-04-13

Good evening friends!!
Hope everyone has had a wonderful Monday.

I have been slacking on posting my recipes so I have 2 for you tonight :)

This weekend I made a typical pesto and added a little sun dried tomatoes for a change.  I know its easy enough to just pick up a jar of this stuff but it is so much better with fresh basil and the smell is so great its worth the dirty dishes it makes. 

Sun dried Tomato Basil Pesto
1/2 Parmesan
1/2 c pine nuts
1/2 sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1tsp sea salt
2-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pack of fresh basil

Place everything but olive oil in food processor.  Drizzle olive oil in 1 tbsp at a time until desired thickness is achieved.  I used 3 tbsp but I know some that like a little more olive oil in their pesto than I generally do so add more if needed.  This can be used in so many ways.  I love to coat chicken breasts with pesto and bake.  Its great with seafood.  Add a little to your veggies.  So many options. 

I decided last night to make some pizza and have been playing around with different crust recipes. 

Cauliflower Pizza Crust
1 small head cauliflower
1/2 c almond flour

1/2 c coconut flour
2 eggs
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp fresh oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper

Break up cauliflower into small pieces and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to completely cook (it will cook your eggs if you don't).  Place all ingredients in food processor and pulse until starts to pull away from edges and form a ball.  This made 3 thin crust pizzas.  Smash down on well oiled foil covered cookie sheet or pizza pan.  Sprinkle oiled foil with organic corn meal, it helps with sticking.  Bake 350 20 minutes, top and bake another 10-15 minutes. 

I topped it with baby spinach and baby kale, clams and the above pesto.  When it came out of the oven I drizzled with balsamic vinegar.  Pictured above.  

I also used to this crust to make chicken and veggie pizza with the marinara I keep on hand in the freezer and a little raw Parmesan (I almost always use raw or unpasturized cheese) and served half with a small salad with veggies and a little braggs dressing.