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 :)

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!

Paleo Chocolate Sauce or Ganache.

(Hello everyone :) I am alive! I've been busy (with medical school), but here I am again!)

Sauce or ganache? Why the fuss?

Well, technically, this is a "ganache" recipe... since ganache is composed of melted chocolate + cream (coconut milk here), which makes it spreadable and allows it to just barely harden into a lovely smooth chocolate experience.

Chocolate sauce, on the other hand, tends to be more of a more syrupy/sugary composition that is perfect for drizzling. Chocolate sauces commonly include corn syrup, or a simple syrup, which gives it a characteristic sweet smoothness that holds its shape when swirled and twisted on a spoon (and on top of your ice cream!)

This recipe rides in the middle. Best of both worlds, I'd say :)

And it's paleo, primal, gluten-free, soy-free, and barely sweetened (my favorite). Which by default makes it amazing. Obviously.

Paleo Chocolate Sauce.
    makes enough for a crowd, or some for one and enough for later!
    Time to prepare = < 10 minutes

    3 oz  unsweetened Baker's chocolate* - or 3 oz of your favorite
    8 oz  unsweetened coconut milk - this one is my favorite**
    1 tsp to 1 Tbsp  runny honey*** (or more to taste)
    splash  vanilla
    dash  unrefined sea salt
    stevia drops - (optional and to taste)

To make your chocolate sauce:
  1)  In a double boiler, or a heavy bottomed pan, add chocolate chunks, coconut milk, honey. Heat on medium / medium-low until chocolate is melted. Whisk whisk whisk until smooth and entirely incorporated.
***To measure out the honey in this recipe, I usually stick a regular eating teaspoon into the honey, to get it moderately coated, and then place it into the chocolate sauce pan; I am estimating this is about 2 tsp to a whole tablespoon of honey. Feel free to use more if you want more sweetness.
  2)  Add vanilla extract, stevia (if desired) and salt. Whisk again. Taste. Add more stevia or honey if desired.
  3)  Enjoy! Dip in some strawberries, apple slices, spread on unsweetened pumpkin bread use to make into chocolate bark, use it as cake frosting (pictured); or put in a jar to use on ice cream! This sauce can do anything! Stored in the fridge this should last 1-2 weeks.

*I used the old size Baker's chocolate squares which I stocked up on right after they changed / halved the sizing of their packages.
** This brand is 100% coconut milk, and I can get it locally (if you're in Seattle, look at Central Market or PCC) for a great price (and no yucky canned coconut milk flavor!)


PS. I am now officially a third year medical student! I finished second year today. This will be a busy summer, as I am taking classes, starting clinic, and taking BOARDS in August, but you should hopefully hear more from me! I've got some recipes I've been meaning to share you guys. I hope to have some more time to get you some more yummies :) I know I've been completely MIA, and I appreciate my readers who still subscribe and share and benefit from my recipes!

PPS. The first picture is this chocolate sauce over my favorite grain-free gluten-free chocolate cake! (The sauce has harded at this point, and is exactly like a ganache!) I halved the ingredients to the cake and topped it with chocolate sauce, for a yummy dessert that is only minimally sweetened. The second picture is this chocolate sauce after being made, so it is still warm and in "sauce" vs ganache form. I love how versatile this recipe is!

XOXOOXO
Happy Day!

"Reverse" Nourishing Protein Bars 1.0.

Cocoa butter is one of those ingredients that I've been wanting to flirt with for a while, yet the "high" price tag has always bothered me. Recently, however, some of my blogger friends have been using cocoa butter in their recipes, effectively making me jealous (well, more so curious!), so I jumped in and got some myself.

Cocoa butter is the fat that is extracted from the cocoa bean; and that's why it is white/yellowish in color, and not brown. Good quality cocoa butter should be at least $15/lb, and if it's less than that, you're either getting scammed or you just happened on a good deal. Look for a brand that has good reviews, is raw and organic, and can be used to make both food items and lotions. If you're using your cocoa butter for food applications, like here, you do not want to buy a non-food grade cocoa butter, so be sure to read the description on the product before you buy. I am a fan of Tisano brand organic cocoa butter, which you can find the link to on my ingredients page.

Cocoa butter comes in chunks or wafers (look for the kind made of chunks) and is easily meltable. For best results, store in the fridge before you're ready to work with it. And don't be afraid to try a chunk on it's own. I think it texture is like a bit like really smooth fatty coconut, but instead of coconut flavor, a hint of chocolate flavor instead! That being said, it's super versatile, and you can use it in chocolate sauces, puddings, and in things like these delicious protein bars :) I actually had a little bit left after making my protein bars, so I mashed some ripe bananas into it, added some cocoa powder, a little coconut sugar, ground chia, salt, and vanilla, and Viola! Chocolate pudding!

"Reverse" Nourishing Protein Bars 1.2.

    a spin off my original protein bars

 
    1 cup  whole raw walnuts
    1 cup  whole raw pumpkin seeds
    1/4 cup  ground chia seed
    1/2 cup  organic whole cranberries - mine were from Trader Joes
    1/2 cup  organic unsweetened coconut chips
    1/2 cup  organic sunbutter - mine was homemade :)
    1/2 tsp  unrefined sea salt
    1/2 cup  organic coconut oil, melted
    1-2 Tbsp  organic local wildflower honey
    2-3 tsp  vanilla
    ~  1 cup  organic raw cocoa butter, melted - source
    ~  1 cup  coconut cream concentrate - source
    ~  1/4-1/3 cup  organic coconut oil
    1 dropper  vanilla creme liquid stevia (optional)
    1 Tbsp  vanilla
 
* Please note the ingredients with an "about" sign in front of them are just estimates of amounts. I really just added some cocoa butter, ccc, and coconut oil to a double boiler and melted it together, adding the stevia (for sweetness) and vanilla (for flavor) at the end. I wanted a lot chocolate coating on my protein bars, but feel free to use less if desired.

To make your protein bars:
  1.  Place walnuts, pumpkin seeds, ground chia, cranberries, coconut, sunbutter and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine.
  2.  In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil using LOW heat. Remove from heat and add vanilla and maple syrup.
  3.  Add melted oil mixture to the food processor and pulse/grind ingredients until it forms a coarse paste.
  4.  Scoop out the mixture and press down hard into an square bar pan.
  5.  Melt coconut and cocoa butter in a double boiler, add stevia and vanilla last when finally melted. Pour the white mixture on top of the already pressed down bars, it should be liquid. Place into the fridge until chocolate has hardened. To serve, take bars out of fridge for at least 2 minutes. Work a knife around the edges gently, or insert a large knife on side and gently pop out the bar  and place pieces of plastic wrap or small baggies. Freeze for later or munch right away :)


You can even cut them into smaller or easier to bite shapes, like in the second photo. Enjoy this easy + nutritious option on the go!

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 ;)

 

Reflections On Cooking.

This blog has been a great outlet for me over the years, and has served to be a source of fun, mainly as an outlet to share what I've learned through my own food adventures. I have shared what has worked for me as I've gone gluten-free, soy-free, and grain-free. What keeps me going is my love of the both the gluten-free and healthy blogging community, because I know that if there were not blogs from awesome home cooks when I went gluten-free years ago, I would have felt so lost. Every so often I get a comment from a reader about how much they loved the recipe, and this is what keeps me going. Even though I am very busy, I don't think I ever want to stop having a blog. It's a place to come to share my cooking excitement. While I may not post as frequently as I used to when I was in college, keep my page bookmarked, because you'll never know when something new and tasty will show up.

Another thing that I love about food blogging is the chance to share what I've made with friends and family. I can refer them to my blog after they try a dish of mine, instead of writing them a recipe card. Then if they wish to, they are able share it with their friends, too. I am a big fan of education of all kinds, and I love that (for somethings anyways) the internet is a catalyst for sharing information about food, cooking recipes and techniques.

One thing that always gets me about having a recipe blog though, is the "need" to post something new. Years ago when I wasn't as busy as I am now, this wasn't as hard. Seems like I always had something cooked up, photos taken and ready to share. Now that I am in medical school, I have virtually no time to create a new recipe, get all the measurements right, take pictures I'm actually proud of, and share it with you all. While I am still doing a fair amount of cooking new creations in my own kitchen, I am cooking as I go, and honestly, to keep track of every single spice and ingredient is tiresome. I have never had the patience for that, and that is one reason why there aren't as many savory lunch and dinner recipes here, because after you read an ingredient list with over five spices, who is really going to benefit from reading about my dish? As the number of ingredients and complication surrounding the recipe making increases, the possibility of people making and enjoying my recipe decreases.

The way I cook in my kitchen is half planned, half spontaneous. I like to make a plan in my head of what I want to make for dinner, which is usually a protein and two vegetables, and then go from there. For instance, that week I may discover that I am out of grass-fed ground beef, so I'll defrost some chicken, fish, or steaks instead. Then, when I go to the farmers market or local grocery store, I may find that the lettuce or vegetable I was planning on buying doesn't look very good that week, isn't available, or is either not on sale or overpriced, so I have to buy another kind of veggie to enjoy. I like to call this style of cooking "rolling with it." There is still a budget and a plan, but there is room to play. Why would I choose to buy the more expensive pink lady apples to eat that week, when the fuji apples look just as good and are on sale? That's how I roll.

As I've been cooking for several years now, I do realize that there are some things that I do in the kitchen that people would benefit from hearing about. That's why I've shared some things that I do rather frequently, like making nut mix for my mom (when I'm visiting home), making ice cream in the summer, roasting off some squash fries, whipping up a batch of protein bars for easy eating on the go, and putting together a fun breakfast bowl when I have the time.

Sometimes I feel insecure about my blogging platform since I don't share many of my dinner and lunch meals. I cook as I go, layering on the flavors, and that's hard for me to capture in an adequate enough way that I feel proud to present it in a post.

I would love to do a vegetables series, where I showcase my favorite (basic) ways to cook my favorite vegetables, so you may see this in the future one day. This would be less complex and something easy for me to share with you all. But for now, I am enjoying making whatever I want in the kitchen, and bringing you all to a recipe when I both have time, and delicious results.

Triple Vanilla Ice Cream.

Vanilla ice cream is definitely one of  my favorite flavor of ice cream. I like to try sample at every ice cream shop I visit, to see if I have found the vanilla ice cream. So far my search has found some pretty good vanillas, and some pretty mediocre vanilla ice creams. By far, the standard of my comparison has been the storebought super premium ice cream, Double Rainbow. Since trying this ice cream, no other vanilla I've tried has stacked up to it's incredibly creamy, smooth, bright and comforting vanilla flavor.

So when I whipped up this ice cream last weekend, I thought that it would come out very well, but I didn't know how well. Even before pouring this ice cream into the ice cream maker to freeze, I knew this batch was special. It tastes like a dream, scoops like a dream, and melts like a dream (unlike some homemade ice creams which just seem to melt right away, or to never melt at all). I have to admit, it certainly rivals the amazing taste of Double rainbow, which is a feat in and of itself. I will definitely be making more vanilla ice cream exactly like this. Below is a photo from my brother's birthday celebration.

Since the vanilla sugar and cream are simmered together (in order to dissolve the sugar), the final product as a slight caramel taste! No doubt if you simmered the cream and sugar longer, you could easy make a dulche de leche version.

Triple Vanilla Ice Cream.
    makes two quarts

    6 oz  vanilla sugar - source or make your own
    4 cups (1 quart)  raw cow's milk cream
    1  vanilla bean
    1 Tbsp  vanilla extract
    1 Tbsp  coconut flour - source
    5  egg yolks
    1/2 tsp  unrefined sea salt

To make your ice cream:
  1. In a small sauce pan, combine sugar and 1 cup cream. Turn on high heat, bring almost to a boil, when first bubbles appear at sides reduce heat to simmer, and simmer, stirring frequently, for about 5-10 minutes. Mixture will thicken, coat the back of a spoon, and be caramel-like when ready. Remove from heat and allow to cool (this may take a while).
  2. In a separate bowl, combine coconut flour, salt, vanilla bean flecks, and egg yolks. Mix until yellow and thick. Add vanilla extract. Whisk in remaining 3 cups cream. Slowly add the cooled vanilla sugar mixture, whisking constantly.
  3. Add to your ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturers instructions. Mine churned for about 25 minutes. This ice cream comes out perfectly straight from the ice cream maker. Freeze overnight before scooping for hard ice cream. No need to remove ice cream from freezer for 10 minutes before serving. It's scoopable as is!
  4. This ice cream is so delicious, serve with your favorite brownies, chocolate sauce, nuts or whipped cream. Or you can serve along mint cake, like I did here! Enjoy :)

Want some cake with your ice cream? Try my grain-free chocolate cake! It's super easy, just make sure to follow instructions and to both grease and flour the pan.

Other ice creams I've made:
- Original vanilla ice cream - my first attempt, these basic proportions are what I use as a "template" for making all my other ice cream recipes
- French vanilla ice cream
- Chocolate ice cream
- Chocolate peanut butter ice cream

Have a lovely summer day!

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 :)

Review: All Clad Measuring Spoons.

Photo credit

I'm a little embarrassed it's taken me so long to do this post. I've been wanting to share this with you for a while now since I started this blog!

I have been a fan of these little measuring spoons for several years now. They have been my constant companions in the kitchen ever since I started my cooking journey. I found them one afternoon while browsing at one of my favorite kitchen stores, Williams Sonoma. At first I was taken with their simplicity and durability, but then I was slightly dissappointed by the price tag. These measuring spoons are very good quality, which is reflected in the price. After thinking it through, I realized that the quality and construction of these spoons would last me a lifetime, so I ended up purchasing them. It was one of the best decisions concerning kitchen tools I've ever made! It's been over four years now and they still look as good as new! Pros: they wash up well, have no nooks or crannies to hide flour residue, they are sturdyand are made of one piece, and so they have no rivets that can come apart. I have no cons to mention whatsoever!

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I highly recommend these to all my foodie friends! Check them out. They also make great gifts! I have both the "standard" size set and the "odd" size set. Both sets nest together, which is great for storage. They come with a little click-chain to hold them together, but I prefer to use a rubber band to hold them together (if I am traveling with them, which I do often). Amazon seems to sell round ones, but Williams Sonoma's version are square shaped. In the below picture the small measuring spoons are the "odd" size measuring spoons I previously mentioned. In the above picture are the "standard" size measuring spoons.

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If you need to update your measuring spoons (no plastic!) then check these out. I know I will be passing these along to my children, and they will pass them along to their children. I am also happy to never have to buy measuring spoons again. I prefer to buy quality kitchen products that last, so I don't have to keep rebuying cheaper brands which ultimately costs more money in the end.

PS. I am not paid by any of the above mentioned parties, I am simply expressing my love recommendations of this kitchen tool :)

How To Make Peanut Butter More Nutritious.

Despite what a lot of people say, I think it's really tough to eat real food on a budget. Sure, real food costs SO MUCH less than processed foods, but for a girl like me that's only learned to shop for real food, I feel like I pay so much each week and month! Even though this happens, my philosophy is that I would rather pay for food now, and take care of my body, than I would to pay the doctor later.

A few weeks ago I had an extreme craving for peanut butter. I generally avoid the stuff since peanuts are a legume, and legumes should be soaked and cooked before eating like their cousin the bean family. Peanut butter in general is also very hard to digest for many people, and those of us who are allergic to soy can cross-react with peanuts. Peanut butter also contains a good amount of aflatoxin, a toxic substance in the mold created by specific microorganisms that grow on peanuts. Buying organic peanut butter is best for limiting your aflatoxin exposure, but doesn't negate it entirely.

I have been learning how to listen to my body, so I bought some peanut butter.  I think I went through 2 jars in the next two weeks before my cravings for it subsided. And then the addictive cravings started to happen, and because I know the difference between those two types of cravings, I started to cut back. As the weeks of my last quarter of medical school wore on, I still ate the peanut butter here and there, and even started making some peanut butter smoothies in my Vitamix (= mistake, they are so good!). But around the same time I noticed my digestion starting to get worse. Could it be the peanut butter? I did some experimenting and found that it was indeed causing my painful cramping and bloating. Clearly my body can only handle so much peanut butter.

But back to my real reason for this post. Bottom line is that real food costs money. There are several ways to help alleviate the expense, like buying in bulk, sharing with other people, buying meat one from source and freezing it, buying lots of a certain item when it's on sale, buying from farmers markets, and my favorite: always asking "do I really need this?" I find that 75% of the time the answer is no. At the end of the day, all I really need is some good quality protein, lots of veggies, and some fat. One thing that can help the food budget is making compromises where you're comfortable. For many, peanut butter can be a cheap and decent source of protein and fat. But how do you make it even more nutritious? That's where this post comes in.

When I was buying peanut butter a few weeks ago, I had the idea of pouring off the naturally separated peanut oil and replacing the peanut oil with good quality coconut oil. The results were easy and delicious! With each spoonful I knew I was getting some good quality MCT's from the coconut oil, which are great fuel source for the body and keeping your metabolism strong. Removing most of the peanut oil also decreased the amount of Omega-6 fatty acids that my body was getting. Having a low Om6/Om3 ratio in our bodies is vitally important for staying healthy.

To make your peanut butter more nutritious:
  1.  Buy your favorite natural creamy unsalted peanut butter, organic is best. Make sure that the oil has separated on the top. If not, try reaching to the back of the shelf and grabbing one that has separated.
  2.  At home, take the lid carefully off the jar and gently pour off the separated peanut oil. I like to tilt my jar around a few times to get as much off as possible.
  3.  With a large spoon, take about the same amount of coconut oil and stir it into your peanut butter. STIR well! These are fun, or do it by hand. If you don't like the taste of coconuts, you're seriously at the wrong blog, but nevertheless I will tell you that it does NOT make the peanut butter taste coconutty.
  4.  Lastly, add your favorite unrefined sea salt to the mix. Stir well again.
  5.  Sample some off the spoon/knife to double check that it is delicious. Some people like more or less salt.
  6.  Then stick your peanut butter in the refridgerator! It will solidify a little and will spread just like Jiff! But without all the gunk! As it sits out at room temperature on your spoon it will start to melt a little and be more runny. ENJOY!

 
If peanut butter isn't your thing, or if you prefer almond butter, try this with storebought almond butter!

If you'd rather make your own homemade nut butter, check out this cashew cookie butter recipe. Or use either storebought or homemade almond butter to make some cinnamon honey almond butter, or what I like to call CHAB. Which my mom is obsessed with and she calls me every so often saying "Guess what I made today! CHAB!"

One final note: Adam's brand peanut butter is the PNW's equivalent to Smuckers on the East Coast, or Laura Scudders down in California. I've liked these kinds before, so it was cool to learn it's all the same company. Kind of like Dreyer's ice cream vs Edy's ice cream on the West Coast vs East Coast.

Happy mixing!