Dr. Meg's Homemade Blueberry Juice.

You guys, this stuff is RAD.  It's rad both because it tastes good and because it's good FOR you!

In medical school, we received extensive education on herbal medicine. One of the great Naturopathic doctors who helped integrate the use of botanicals and primary care naturopathic medicine was Dr. Bill Mitchell. His case books tell great stories of people acheiving wellness through natural therapies. I've seen this first hand in my own practice, also, which is why I became a Naturopathic doctor in the first place!

This berry juice was one of Dr. Mitchell's passions. His family still carries on his legacy, and sells a great product. I've used that product personally and with patients, and it's delicious, but I knew I could make something easily at home and reap similar benefits.

Berries, mostly the blue and dark dark colored berries, contain anthyocyanodins. Anthocyanodins are potent antioxidants, and they have a great affinity for the vascular system. Men, young and old, should be on this berry concentrate daily. Women benefit the most after menopause, as their cardiovascular health risk increases.

Here's the recipe: get cooking! Be sure to read the whole recipe first before embarking.

Dr. Meg's Blueberry Juice.
     makes 1 quart jar + berry "compote" leftovers

8 pints organic blueberries
8 pints organic blackberries
^ I previously lived in Seattle, and had access to local farms, this equates to 2 flats of berries
1 cup filtered water
1 Tbsp coconut oil

Directions:
  1) Turn your slow cooker on to WARM setting, you want things to heat up for extraction of constituents, but not to "cook" the berries.
 2) Add all your berries to the pot, add water, and coconut oil. Replace lid.
 3) Simmer on warm for 48 hours, stirring occassionally, only about 3 times per day.
 4) When done, berries should look "shriveled" like you defrosted frozen blueberries, and the juice should nearly cover the berries and be dark blue in color.
 5) With a fine mesh strainer, gently scoop the berries out, and press-out juice lightly with the back of wooden spoot into a funnel that goes into a large 1 qt mason jar. Do this in batches. You will be left with about 1 qt of berry juice and berries.
 6) Store in the fridge. I like to eat the berry portion with breakfast (see my recipe for chia pudding) and then take shots of the juice OR add to a large portion of water and drink throughout the day.
 7) The berry juice is not very sweet, so it won't affect your blood sugar levels much.


Enjoy :)

The Most Awesome Massaged Kale Salad.

A few months after getting on the "I love kale" band-wagon, I discovered just how great massaged kale salads taste. Also, they are incredibly easy to make. The massaging process only takes a few minutes, but is sufficient to break down the cellulose and other fibers in the kale, making the leaves more digestible and less chewy when eating. This version is super simple, and very customizable. I like to add parmesan cheese for a salty kick and an off-set to the slight bitterness of the kale leaf. But if dairy isn't your thing, feel free to leave it out.

The Most Awesome Massaged Kale Salad.
    serves 4-6 depending on your kale-love-level

    2 heads dino kale, stems removed, and cut into 1/4”-1/2” ribbons
    1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
    2 Tbsp tahini
    juice of one lemon
    1 Tbsp olive oil / drizzle of olive oil
    3 dashes nutmeg
    2 dashes cayenne pepper
    1 dash smoked hot paprika
    1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
    salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
  1)  Place kale in large bowl, add lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Massage with bare hands for 3-5 minutes, until kale decreases in size by half and is soft and looks dark green.
  2)  Add parmesan, tahini, and spices. Mix thoroughly.
  3)  EAT and enjoy! This is even better the second or third day, but I doubt it will last you that long!

Feel free to add more heads of kale if you want to make a bigger portion, but you may have to adjust the amount of cheese and tahini; however, I've made this with 3 heads of kale and didn't add any more ingredients. It's that forgiving! The photos here are of the salad made with regular green kale, but I much prefer the dino kale, but both work and are equally delicious.

Possibly vegan, gluten-free, nutrient rich and delicious. Share it with all your family and friends. They’ll gobble it up! My family, friends and I surely did.

Xoxo,

My Favorite Chia Pudding.

Most likely you've seen and heard about all the hype surrounding chia seeds. And most likely you've seen a gazillion recipes for "chia pudding." And... if you're like me, you wrinkle your nose and think sarcastically "really, how can THAT be good?!" Well this food craze wasn't going away, and I decided to stop being a baby and to stop saying "eww" inside my head when I hadn't even tried it. (You know that if you're a foodie, that's rule #1: Don't knock it till you try it). So I sucked it up and haphazardly threw some chia seeds in my smoothie bottle, poured in some vanilla, some this and that, enough liquid that looked appropriate, shook shook shook shook, and left it in the fridge to do it's thing.

Now I can easily say that the jokes on me people. The next morning, as I pulled the chia goo out of the fridge, I was skeptical. But I dipped my spoon in anyways and took a bite. My brain exploded. Holy cow how is this good?! This tapioca-like substance is SOOO not tapioca-like at all. I think I proceeded to eat half the batch I made right then and there. But then I showed restraint, because I knew I'd want some more yumminess later.

Ever since that fateful day, where I felt both like a Queen (hey hey, this girl tried chia pudding and LIKED it) and like a fool (this idiot waited too long to make omg-delicious-pudding), I've been experimenting with my own chia recipes. It is a little bit of a science and an art. You have to combine the right ratio of liquid to chia in order to get the right consistency. The right consistency may be firm after it has set overnight, or it maybe slightly more runny after setting overnight. But the best thing is, you can choose the texture of your pudding! See my tips after the recipe for getting this part right.

I've made this stuff with herbal coffee and coconut milk (divine), with coconut milk and vanilla (divine divine), and also with raw milk and vanilla. I like this recipe because it's the easiest of all, and it literally takes 1 minute to make. Have your roommate/partner/spouse come into the kitchen and time you. Real food doesn't have to take forever to make.

A couple notes, the quality of the liquid which you use as the base of your pudding makes the biggest difference here. In all the test-runs in my kitchen I've always used black chia seeds from my local Whole Foods or other awesome grocery store here in Seattle, so I can't speak for the other varieties of chia. But I do know that whatever milk you use DOES make an incredible difference. The milk I used here is non-canned Arroy-D coconut milk which comes in tetra packs. You can use other alternative milks, but it may make slightly different pudding. For instance, raw grass-fed milk has a much higher fat content than say rice and almond milks, so the end result has slight creaminess to it, and therefore milk alternatives like almond and rice probably will not. But really, this recipe is so versatile, and sure to please anyone in your family.

Someone obviously ate some already ;)

Classic Vanilla Chia Pudding.
     makes one quart mason jar

    1 qt  organic coconut milk, tetra-pak Arroy-D is my fav
    1/2 cup  whole organic black chia seeds
    1/2 tsp  vanilla extract
    15 drops  stevia clear liquid

To make your pudding:
  1)  Grab a clean mason jar with a tight fitting lid.
  2)  Add milk; add vanilla, add stevia
  3)  Pour your chia seeds into the jar.
  4)  Screw on lid and shake shake shake.
  5)  Put jar in fridge and go do something for 5 minutes. Come back, shake shake shake. Return to  fridge, come back a few minutes later. Shake, shake, shake. Repeat.
  6)  Let puddin' do it's thing and get all yummy overnight.

Getting the texture right: Now I know that pudding is like brownies (cakey or fudgey?) and smoothies (thick or thin?), everyone has their own opinion about the perfect texture. This recipe features a pudding that holds together but is not either super firm or very runny. My advice? Start here. If you want the pudding a bit more thick, add a Tbsp of chia seeds and give it time to absorb into the liquid. After a few hours, if it's still too runny, add more, but please know that as this sits in the fridge it does get progressively (just slightly) less runny and a bit more firm as it continues to sit. If you like your puddings more runny, just add 1-2 Tbsp less chia, give it time to sit (4+ hours, overnight is best) and then see where you're at. Overall, very forgiving and you can adjust from there. But in general it's good to have a baseline recipe, and then you can easily switch up some of the ingredients to make it more interesting.

On a non-recipe note, I have been trying to enjoy my summer since it's post-basic science Boards! I am still in classes though, so even though I haven't been doing much studying (me need break) I haven't been sharing my new recipes with y'all. I've got a bunch of them on Notes on my iPhone, and I really need to get cracking, buckle down and make some of these babies and take photos of the yumminess and then share them with you!

Thanks for sticking around even though my posts are less regular as they used to be. Med school kind of re-prioritizes your life.
:)

Grain-free Unsweetened Paleo Banana Bread.

I've been wanting to share this recipe with y'all for too long. Banana bread is one of my all-time favorite things (which is no secret, see below for more banana-centric recipes), and for a long-time I've been elusively searching for and experimenting with the perfect-for-me banana bread recipe. Two years ago I created my delicious grain-free unsweetened primal pumpkin bread, and I love that recipe so much that I believed it had to be possible to morph it into a banana bread instead. After a few different tries, what I'm sharing with you now is a paleo banana bread recipe I am most proud of :)

Grain-free Unsweetened Paleo Banana Bread.
    makes one standard loaf

    1 cup  blanched almond flour
    1/2 cup  organic coconut flour
    3 happy eggs - mine were large
    1/2 cup  coconut oil - mine was soft
    1 1/2 cups  mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
    1 tsp  baking soda
    1/2 tsp  unrefined sea salt
    1 Tbsp  raw apple cider vinegar
    1 tsp  ground nutmeg
    1 Tbsp  cinnamon
    2 tsp  vanilla
    20 drops  clear stevia

To make your banana bread:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Pour all ingredients into a high speed blender (Vitamix!)
3) Blend briefly until incorporated.
4) Pour into a glass, standard loaf pan, that has been greased with coconut oil, and floured with coconut or almond flour.
5) Bake for about 20 minutes, check on the bread and maybe rotate the pan, and bake for another 20-30 minutes depending on your oven. Let bread cool in the pan, then carefully turn out and slice. Store it in the fridge, or the freezer! But most likely your family will gobble it up in no time!

And now, I invite you to explore my other banana lovin' recipes!

Banana Bread Muffins

Grain-free Zucchini Bread

Banownies

Banana Macadamia Nut Muffins

Almond Butter Banana Blueberry Muffins

Grain-free Post-surgery Banana Bread

Grain-free Almond Banana Waffles

Grain-free Unsweetened Banana Cake

My Original Banana Cake

Fruity Vegan Oatmeal Bake


Enjoy your banana bread. It's great spread with some almond or peanut butter or slathered with some juice-sweetened black raspberry jam :) YUM. Or even butter, if you're so inclined.

And I know the pictures aren't super great. It's been really hard to adjust to all the poor Seattle lighting!

Protein Balls 1.0. (Cinnamon Almond).

As I talked about last time, I've changed my diet every-day-food-selection recently. More protein! Less carb! Easy to digest things! And among all that I've found the need for an afternoon or pre-dinner snack that fits the bill. I've been eating too many Lara Bar Lemon Pie ALT bars, and Quest bars, and it's just not sustainable. I needed something that I could make at home, that was less costly, portable, protein rich, with just a little fat and a low CHO content... and so this recipe was born! (Oh, and it had to be easy, since I've got a busy schedule over here!)

This photo was taken right after I rolled them, before the fridge. I made two different kinds this morning, one which I will share at a later date (notice the balls lighter in color in the lower left hand corner).

And daaang, these babies are so good I don't know why I didn't do something like this sooner. They are also very easily customizable to make different flavors, providing you keep the general ratios the same ;)

Protein Balls 1.0. (Cinnamon Almond)
    inspired by deliciousness

    1/2 cup  homemade almond butter - or storebought - or nut butter of choice
    1/2 cup  rice protein powder - I use this one
    1/4 cup  ground flaxseed
    2 Tbsp  organic coconut oil, melted - source
    1 Tbsp  organic cinnamon - source
    1 Tbsp  local runny honey
    1/4 tsp  unrefined sea salt
    1-2 Tbsp water (optional)

(Be precise on measurements for best results. I'm an eyeballer too, but definitely get out your measuring cups for this one!)

To make your protein balls:
  1)  In a large bowl, combine almond butter, protein powder, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, salt, honey. Mix a little. Then add melted coconut oil. Mix until a dough like texture forms. Add water if necessary, I've found that every mixture is slightly different, but I've found you usually won't need to add the water.
  2)  Divide the dough equally into 10 balls. Roll dough with clean hands into balls. Then store in an air-tight container in the refridgerator. (They will soften outside of the fridge, like if you take one out and put it in your purse for later.)
  3)  Enjoy!

If you make 10 balls, here are the (approximate) stats (thanks to MyFitnessPal):

Calories - 159 kcal
Carbs - 7 g
Fat - 9 g
Protein - 13 g

Not bad, huh? I am not an advocate of counting calories, but sometimes it's good to see where recipes stand, especially if your aiming for something like a high protein snack, which I was. You can always make bigger or smaller balls to suit your own snack needs.

This is a great kid-friendly recipe as well - pour all the ingredients into a bowl - let them mix it - and let them help you roll them into balls! But no snitching, otherwise you'll throw off your macros ;)

There you go! Your very own homemade "protein bar!" Woot! Enjoy - and stay tuned for other versions soon. I have a feeling I am going to be making these alot ;)

Grain-free Granola 2.0.

About a year ago I made some delicious grain-free cinnamon raisin granola for the first time. It was seriously delicious. So recently I went to go make some, and the search bar in my blog wasn't working... anyone else having this problem?!  So I ended up wingining it, trying to remember just what I did, and it came out great!  Even better than the first version if I do say so myself.

This grain-free granola is crunchy, toasty, and packed full of flavor!  Everyone in your family will love it, and they will all have a hard time believing that yeah, there are no oats in here!  You could even make a batch of this granola, put it in cute little jars, and give it away as Christmas gifts!  But everyone just might hound you for the recipe ;)  No worries, feel free to share!

PS - If cinnamon and raisins aren't your thing, try another spice combo, like cranberries and cardamom, or nutmeg and dried blueberries, or apricots and cloves! Feel free to switch it up to your liking.

These were filled to the tippy tippy top, BUT I ate some ;)

Grain-free Granola 2.0.
    makes 2 gallon sized mason jars full (even with extensive recipe sampling ;)
    * these ratios are generalized, really just throw all your favorite nuts combination in a large bowl; for instance, I didn't use cashews or peanuts, but feel free to use these if you wish

1/2 cup each:
    sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, whole macadamia nuts*, whole pecans, whole walnuts
1 cup each:
    pumpkin seeds, whole pecans, sliced almonds, raisins
1 cup each:
    ground macadamia nuts*, ground pistachios, ground walnuts
1-2 cups  organic coconut "chips" (largely flaked coconut)
1 cup  organic shredded coconut (small little shreds of coconut, not traditional sized flakes)
2  large eggs
1 - 2 Tbsp  cinnamon
1/3-1/2 cup  brown rice syrup
~1/4 cup  runny honey

To make your yummy granola:
  1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees; mine was non-convection.
  2.  Combine nuts, coconuts, cinnamon, brown rice syrup, and honey.  Mix together. Add in both eggs and stir well with a wooden spoon.
  4.  On two parchment paper lined baking sheets, spread the mixture evenly between two pans.
  5.  Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Watch it, uneven ovens may burn.  Stir well.  Bake another 10 minutes or so.  Stir.  Depending on your oven, you may need another a longer or shorter time. For me, it varies a little on every batch.
  6.  When done, remove from oven and let cool on pans. The granola will crisp up considerably as it cools and even more after you put it in jars and taste it the next day.

*My macadamia nuts were roasted and salted, so I did not add salt to the recipe. If you don't have any pre-salted nuts in your mixture and they are all raw, I suggest adding a teaspoon or two of salt, to your taste.

I cannot be held responsible for any granola-lovers who ingest too much granola during the making of this recipe. WARNING - This granola is dangerously good. Serve it straight out of the jar as a snack, with some cold raw milk or coconut milk in the morning like "cereal" or even on top of your favorite greek yogurt or ice cream. Or even a fruit parfait!  Use as you would any "regular" granola, but be aware that this granola is substantially more calorie dense, so you can eat way less and still feel just as satisfied ;)

Yum! Enjoy :)

Banana Macadamia Muffins.

 

For the past two weeks I've been on a muffin craze, which has me seriously thinking why I don't make muffins more often. Perhaps the one thing between me and muffin-land is the belief that muffins take longer from start to finish. Well, after making 4 different batches of muffins in the past 2 weeks, I can definitely say, I am so totally wrong! Muffins are easy. Easy easy easy. Which means... More muffins! More muffins! Yay!

You will certainly feel my enthusiasm once you taste these muffins. I orginally found the recipe on Tropical Traditions coconut recipe website (which is great for inspiration), but have never made a recipe from there before. I never make a recipe from someone I don't know, or a blogger I don't respect. I've done it before, and they don't work out. Anyways! So these muffins looked so great, and after looking at the ingredient list I figured they couldn't go wrong, so I whipped up these muffins. I am so glad I did! They are moist, with just the right texture and not overloaded on any one ingredient. My favorite thing is that you can make these in one bowl quite easily, then pop them into the oven and you've got some delicious muffins to share!

I made some minor changes to the recipe, like subbing coconut water vinegar for lemon juice, since it's what I had on hand, and I didn't toast the coconut before adding it to the batter, since that would just be another step. I've also found that the recipe makes 14 muffins, so you'll need more than one muffin tin. Head over to thepaleomom.com for the original recipe!

Banana Macadamia Muffins.
    makes 14 muffins

    2/3 cup  macadamia nuts of choice, chopped
    2/3 cup  unsweetened coconut flakes
    1 cup  blanched almond flour
    ¼ cup  organic coconut flour - source
    3  ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
    2  eggs, room temperature
    1/3 cup  raw creamy honey
    1/3 cup  organic coconut oil, melted and cooled
    ¾ tsp  baking soda
    ½ tsp  unrefined sea salt
    1 tsp  coconut water vinegar or apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
    1 tsp  vanilla extract

To make your muffins:
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees convection. Take out 2 muffin tins and place muffin liners inside.
  2. In a large bowl, add nuts, coconut, flours, baking soda, salt; mix to combine.
  3. To the same bowl, add eggs, bananas, honey, coconut oil, vinegar, vanilla; mix again to combine.
  4. Drop by tablespoons into the muffin tins. Fill 14 muffins full. *This will make 14 full sized muffins as long as there is no batter eaten in the process.
  5. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, rotating the pans at 20 minutes for best results. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes. Then move muffins to a cooling rack, which helps to firm up their bottoms. Enjoy!

These muffins can be frozen or refridgerated! I recommend storing them in the fridge, versus the countertop before eating. Be sure to share these with your family and friends, they're quite tasty!

Banana Bread Muffins.

Banana bread is one of my favorite things in this whole wide world. After being inspired by some banana macadamia nut muffins I made, I knew that I could make some banana bread muffins that were absolutely delicious! So that's what I did. They're also grain-free and gluten-free (and wicked tasty)!

These little muffins taste just like banana bread, but are more portable! They're also super easy to whip up too, which will be great for when I start classes again.

Banana Bread Muffins.
    makes 14 muffins

    2/3 cup  walnuts, chopped
    2/3 cup  unsweetened coconut flakes
    1 cup + 2 Tbsp  blanched almond flour
    ¼ cup  organic coconut flour - source
    3  ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
    2  eggs, room temperature
    1/4 cup  raw creamy honey
    1/3 cup  organic coconut oil, melted and cooled
    ¾ tsp  baking soda
    ½ tsp  unrefined sea salt
    1 tsp  coconut water vinegar or apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
    1½ tsp  vanilla extract
    1½ tsp  cinnamon
    ½ tsp  freshly ground nutmeg
    toppings - optional

To make your banana bread muffins:
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees convection. Take out 2 muffin tins and place muffin liners inside.
  2. In a large bowl, add nuts, coconut, flours, baking soda, salt; mix to combine.
  3. To the same bowl, add eggs, bananas, honey, coconut oil, vinegar, vanilla; mix again to combine.
  4. Drop by tablespoons into the muffin tins. Fill 14 muffins full. *This will make 14 full sized muffins as long as there is no batter eaten in the process.
  5. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, rotating the pans at 20 minutes for best results. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes. Then move muffins to a cooling rack, which helps to firm up their bottoms. Enjoy!

I am such a fan of banana bread, I know I will be making these often! And they are sure to please a crowd, so try bringing them to parties and sharing with friends and family!!

Grain-free Blueberry Muffins 1.0.

I have loved all things blueberry for as long as I can remember. In fact, maybe I should ask my mom, as I am sure there was some point when I didn't like blueberries... but if there was a day, I don't want to remember!

August in New England means blueberries. Usually I get a bunch from some bushes we have on the land, but this year, either someone was picking them, or they just didn't have a good year, since I couldn't find nearly any! Lucky for us there are groceries stores that sell frozen blueberries and other farms to buy them from at the local farmers market!

These muffins were muffin #2 on my recent muffin kick. I am really excited about the flavor and 85% of the texture, but they seem to be a little on the crumbly side. I am going to work on this, and then edit the recipe, but I couldn't wait to share! They are just too delicious. The flavor is perfectly balanced.

Grain-free Blueberry Muffins 1.0.
    makes 18 muffins

    3/4 cup  organic coconut flour – sifted
    1/2 cup  blanched almond flour – sifted
    1/2 cup  raw honey
    1/2 cup  organic coconut oil, softened
    1/2 tsp  unrefined sea salt
    1/2 tsp  baking soda
    2  real eggs
    1 - 1½  cup  raw whole milk
    juice of half a lemon
    zest of one lemon
    1 cup  ground walnuts
    2 cup  frozen or fresh (large) blueberries
    sugar crystals for sprinkling - optional

To make your blueberry muffins:
  1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees convection. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
  2.  In a large bowl, whisk coconut oil until glossy, white and homogenous. Add raw honey and whisk until combined. Add room temperature eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest.
  3.  Add coconut flour, almond flour, soda, salt and walnuts to wet ingredients, sifting the flours into the bowl. Combine with a spatula.
  4.  Add milk, and combine again. Gently fold in blueberries.
  5.  With a tablespoon, add batter to muffin tins until 3/4 full. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown on top. Let cool for a few minutes, then move muffins to a wire rack to cool.

If you don't anticipate eating these within a week (stored in the refridgerator) then freeze them! They'll keep for about 6 months, that is, if you don't eat them sooner ;)

 

Grain-free Sweet Potato French Toast.

Growing up I have a lot of fond memories of my mom's cooking.  On the weekends, she would make a special breakfast for us, and my brother and I would get to choose between either pancakes, french toast, or waffles.  French toast was my brother's particular favorite.  It always came out the same, (tasty), and it was the faster of the three options for my mother to prepare, which always meant breakfast would be sooner!

To be honest I haven't had regular french toast in a long time. Last summer I spontaneously took some left over sweet potato, combined it with some eggs and warm spices, and this recipe was born! I didn't write it down, however, and this last year of medical school has stopped virtually all my recipe development time. Since I am free this summer, I have more time, and so one morning last week I spent time in the kitchen whipping this up! It feels good to be cooking again :)

If you're paleo, primal, grain-free or just wish to avoid unecessary carbs, this recipe is for you. It doesn't actually contain any bread, just some delicious orange sweet potatoes. The eggs and warm spices combine to make the french-toast taste. The texture isn't like bread, but it's moist and melts in your mouth!! Yum!

Grain-free Sweet Potato French Toast.
    makes one 9x13 pan

    1 Tbsp  cinnamon
    1/2 tsp  fresh ground nutmeg
    3 dashes  ground cloves
    1/4 tsp  black pepper
    1/2 tsp  unrefined sea salt
    2 tsp  vanilla extract
    2 Tbsp  raw honey - source
    2 Tbsp  organic coconut oil, melted - source
    1/2 cup  organic raw milk
    6  happy pastured eggs

    3 large sweet potatoes, washed and peeled

    Toppings: (optional, choose your favorites!)
      pecans
      sunflower seeds
      coconut chips
      maple-cinnamon sugar - source

To make your french toast:
  1.  Wash and peel your sweet potatoes. Cut lengthwise in half, then cut each half into half moon shapes about a half inch thick. Arrange on a cookie sheet and roast at 425 degrees until just fork tender.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all spices, honey, oil, milk and eggs. Be sure coconut oil is not hot. Whisk until well combined and there are no lumps of spices or egg.
  3. Grease a 9x13 glass casserole dish with about 1 tablespoon of butter.
  4. Arrange pre-baked sweet potatoes on the bottom of the dish. Pour egg and spice mixture on top. Sprinkle with toppings of choice! I used pecans, sunflower seeds, coconut chips and a maple sugar-cinnamon mixture. Other good choices would be whole walnuts, shredded coconut, ground pecans, and raisins.
  5. Bake at 400 degrees convection, covered in foil, for a total of 45 minutes. At 30 minutes check to see how it's doing. For the last 5 minutes, remove foil. Let cool to set before serving warm with plain yogurt, thick greek yogurt or maple syrup. This will freeze very well and is also great for the next few days straight from the fridge. Enjoy!

This recipe would be a great brunch option, since you can easily make the sweet potatoes and egg mixture the day before and store it in the fridge. Then in the morning before guests arrive, grease the baking dish, add the sweet potatoes, pour in the egg mixture, add the toppings, and in an hour you'll have some delicious paleo french toast baked, cooled, and ready to be devoured! I'd serve it topped with your favorite greek yogurt and fresh blueberries or strawberries, with sizzling bacon on the side, and warm green tea in your mug!

I'd eat this up within a week after you make it, but then again I don't think that will be a problem :)

Grain-free Lemon Poppy Seed Coconut Flour Cake.

It's a rather odd sounding title, isn't it?  This recipe was a spin off my primal gingerbread cake, as well as my grain-free waffle recipe.  I wanted a simple coconut flour-based grain-free baked good that I could whip up fast and was super easy.  So I experimented, and made this!  It was delicious on the first go! This cake has just the right amount of cakey-ness to satisfy my (occasional) bread cravings, but without being loaded with sugar or refined gluten-free grains.  It is also nut-free and Paleo!  My first version was a spiced flavor with lots of ginger and a touch of molasses, and my second (this version) was lemon poppy seed, but feel free to change spices and flavor extracts for a different taste.  I know I will be sharing several different versions as time allows me :)  This bread bakes thin in the pan, so I used two squares and spread some grass-fed butter in between both sides, to make little "sandwich" looking treats.  The whole batch lasted me nearly two weeks, and I was very happy to have something interesting (besides veggies) to nibble on at lunch time :)  It's also a great way to add some more coconut oil and grass-fed butter to your diet, which are rich in good for you saturated fats and fat-soluble activators, which our bodies, brains, and hearts desperately need!

Grain-free Lemon Poppy Seed Coconut Flour Cake.
    makes one 9x13 pan

    1/3 cup  organic coconut oil - source
    2/3 cup  warm water
    6  happy eggs
    1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp (or 1/3 cup heaping)  organic coconut flour - source
    1/4 cup  honey  - mine was wildflower runny honey
    1 tsp  baking soda
    1/2 tsp  organic lemon extract
    2 tsp  poppy seeds
    zest of one organic lemon

To make your lemon poppy cake:
   1.  Place coconut oil and warm water in a medium sized bowl, whisk vigorously for about 2 minutes or until white, glossy and homogenous (and no longer clumpy).
   2.  To the same bowl, add flour, and remaining ingredients. Whisk until incorporated.
   3.  Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan (I used coconut oil), and bake at 350 degrees non-convection for exactly 20 minutes.
   4.  Pull pan from the oven and place on a baking rack to cool. Transfer to the fridge to cool some more. Cut into squares when cool, and spread with your favorite filling. I used grass-fed butter! Yum! Sun-butter or cashew butter would go nicely with these too.

Spread something fun inside and enjoy :) PS-- Don't you love my plates! I found them last year at Sur La Table, and I absolutely love them! I'm so happy they survived the trek from Southern California to Seattle!

 

Grain-free Gingerbread.

 
Holiday baking is always a lot of fun for me.  Since I just completed my undergraduate degree, and have now begun medical school, I don't exactly have a lot of time to bake!  I've been home for Christmas for the past few weeks, and it's been really nice to be "on vacation," and have time to read books, bake, workout, and sleep at my leisure!

When discussing what we wanted to make during the time I am home, as well as for our family Christmas celebrations, my mom suggested we make a gingerbread cake, since my gingerbread men cookies are just too delicious!  (And hooow long has it been since there's been gingerbread in the house??  Apparently years!!)  You see, gingerbread used to be a favorite of mine, but today I realized I haven't had gingerbread cake in probably about 10 years!  What a shock!

So today, I got out my bowl, my favorite spatula, a bunch of yummy molasses and baked this goodness.  My family and I love the cakey texture of this gingerbread, the rich flavor of the molasses, and the punch of the ginger.  And it's not overly sweet, which is what I prefer!

Grain-free Gingerbread Cake.
    makes one 9x13 pan

    1/2 cup  organic palm oil shortening - source
    1/4 cup  homemade vanilla sugar - or any sugar of choice
    4  REAL eggs
    1 cup  molasses
    1 cup  organic coconut flour - source
    1/2 cup  blanched almond flour - source
    1/2 cup  arrowroot flour/starch - source
    1/2 cup  organic applesauce
    1 tsp  baking soda
    1/2 tsp  unrefined sea salt
    lots of ginger + cinnamon (probably 2 T ginger, and 1 T cinnamon)

To make your gingerbread cake:
  1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees (convection). Grease a 9x13 pan liberally with butter.
  2.  In a large bowl, cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add one egg at a time until just incorporated.
  3.  To the same bowl add spices, coconut flour, almond flour, arrowroot, sea salt, baking soda, molasses. Mix. Add applesauce. Mix until combined.
  4.  Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth top with spatula. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, depending on the heat of your oven.
  5.  Remove for oven when sides are slightly browned, and center of cake is springy. Let pan cool on a baking rack for about 20 minutes, then slice and transfer to desired container.  Feel free to freeze for later! Top with whipped cream, ice cream or eat it warm and slather it with cinnamon butter.

Try it cold (you can REALLY taste the ginger punch this way) and topped with some fresh whipped cream! Yum! And don't forget to share it with all your primal, paleo, or grain-free friends! :)

Merry Christmas.

Hello everyone,

Merry Christmas to all of you celebrating the holiday.  I am having a wonderful time relaxing at home with my mom and dad.  Christmas is one of my favorite days of the year simply because it is a time when we slow down, take a moment to rest, enjoy some Christmas music, cookies, and twinkly Christmas tree lights.  A Christmas run or walk is always in order too, and I find myself braving the cold each year to do so.  Christmas Eve is always a very special day for me because it is a time where I get to see my extended family.  I decided to be a little different this year and made a slightly different version of my lemon cookies; I made them instead like little sandwich cookies with lemon yogurt frosting inside.  My mother always likes to make my pumpkin muffins for Thanksgiving and for Christmas, and they always taste so good!  And we have leftover muffins at home! They certainly make for an excellent breakfast!

This year we were blessed with a white Christmas.  We woke up in the morning to light snow and a dusting all over the ground.  The snow kept up all day until it warmed up slightly later in the afternoon, and we ventured outside for some exercise and fresh air.  Tonight I think I am going to make some gluten-free pizza for the family and have "movie" night.  One morning this week I plan to make some waffles and eggnog too.  Eggnog is always synonymous with Christmas in my house ;)  While I am home I also plan on making some spiced nuts, grain-free granola, gluten-free crackers for my mom, protein bars for my sister-in-law, and of course Yule Log for my family when we get together to celebrate a little later in the week.  I also hope to make a gingerbread cake or gingerbread cookies, since I have definitely had a hankering for some spice-y molasses-y goodness lately.  While I have a whole pile (in a three-ring binder, actually) of new recipes I want to try, I think I will mostly be staying with some of my tried and true favorites this year.

I hope you are all healthy, happy, warm and enjoying time with family during this Christmas season.

Jesus is the Reason for this SEASON.

Spinach Artichoke Dip with Cheddar.

Spinach artichoke dip has been on my list to make since who knows when!  I bought a few cans of whole artichokes from Whole Foods a while back in anticipation of one day making it.  And now I have :)

Right now, I am wondering why did I wait so long??  Spinach artichoke dip is delicious!!  (I admit I was skeptical.)  Before making this recipe I consulted a few other food blogs and food websites to see what they were doing in their artichoke dips.  After some internet searching, I decided to go for it and do what seemed intuitive to me.  My first attempt could not have been more delicious.  One thing that is unique about my dip is that it has some protein because I decided to incorporate some chicken and tuna.  Not only would it help with the texture, but it would also make this dip a little bit more wholesome.  And ooh my goodness, this dip is good.  The smoked paprika and cheddar cheese along with a splash of hot sauce really help the depth of flavor in this dish.

 

Spinach Artichoke Dip with Cheddar.
    makes one large dish, must be at least 9x13

    1 large bag spinach
    2 cans whole artichokes, chopped
    1 cup  dill havarti cheese, grated
    1/2 cup  smoked cheddar cheese, grated
    2-3 cups  extra sharp cheddar cheese (I used Cabot)
    8 oz  sour cream
    ~1/4 tsp  smoked mild paprika
    1/2 tsp  pepper
    1/2 tsp  unrefined sea salt
    3 dashes Franks Red Hot sauce
    1 small can  tongol tuna (I used Trader Joes)
    1 large can  white meat chicken (I used Trader Joes)

To make your dip:
  1.  In a 3qt sautee pan, cover the bottom of the pan with 1/2 inch of water.  Stuff as much spinach as you can in the pan.  Close the lid.  Cook over high heat until wilted.  Drain, and gently squeeze out excess water.
  2.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix with your hands - it's easier!
  3.  Pour dip into a large casserole dish or any sort of oven safe baker.  Sprinkle top with more cheese.
  4.  Bake at 400 degrees until bubbly.  Then broil for a minute or two until the top is golden brown and the cheese is melted.
  5.  Let cool.  Spoon out a section and dip baby carrots, red pepper slices and cucumber slices.  Enjoy!

I think this is quickly becoming one of my favorite recipes!  Try this delicious dip in your home for a satiating lunch!  It's great for a summer lunch, and also in the winter time when you want something warm and toasty.  Feel free to refrigerate for about a week as you eat it, but I would not freeze this or keep it over 10 days.

This yummy dip makes getting your veggies easy.  Kids might even love the warm cheesy goodness.  It would also be perfect for taking to parties.  People won't know it's so good for them, and you'll actually enjoy taking leftovers home!