Cheddar Broccoli Side

Cheddar and broccoli go together too well to put into words! I love creamy soups and gratins with this dynamic duo, but most of the tasty recipes for them are high in fat and calories. So, today when I got a cheese craving, I also got a great idea:

Skip the cream and just put cheese, spices, and a little butter on a nice bown of steamed broccoli and enjoy it in much fewer calories. I cheated and used steam-in-the-bag broccoli, then put on equal parts salt, pepper, and chili powder, which adds a light but flavorful kick, with a little butter and cheese. 

Quick, easy, and delicious!

Vanilla-Cinnamon Almond Milk Latte

Five ingredients, 30 calories, one cup of warm, flavorful goodness!

Warm half a mug full of unsweetened almond milk either on the stove or in the microwave, fill up the other half with your favorite hot coffee, and add half a teaspoon of stevia, a dash of cinnamon, and just a drop or two of pue vanilla extract. Stir, sip, and savor.

If your mug happens to be pink with little white polka dots, too, then all the better!

Spinach egg white omlette

Even though I'm unable to digest whole eggs, I recently learned that egg whites do alright in my belly!

So, I'd like to share my new favorite omlette, pictured here on one of my favorite little plates!

I used a heaping teaspoon of coconut oil in a small fry pan to sautee a handful if spinach with a little minced garlic. After about a minute, when the edges of the leaves all curled, I added three egg whites and some salt and pepper. After it fried up on one side and all the edges were lightly toasted, I flipped it over, sprinkled on a little shredded cheddar, and then served it folded in half on a pretty plate.

Even though the cheese is completely optional and technically not a healthy food, this simple recipe still offers a lot of nutrition with the cholesterol-increasing elements of egg yolks and butter that are standard ingredients in a traditional element. Spinach offers lots of vitamins and fiber, egg whites bring lean protein to the table, and coconut oil and garlic are both tasty and beneficial to overall health. For added immune support, feel free to add in some chopped onion, too!

Any way you make it, egg white omlettes are a delicious and nutritious at any meal!

Yummy no-bake fruit dip and snack bites!

Lately I've been cutting up apples into wedges and dipping them in this easy, 4 ingredient concoction, inspired by no-bake cookies. 

All you need is a big, messy spoonful of peanut butter, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkling of instant oats and raw cocoa powder. No need for cooking and cooling or two sticks of butter here! It's great as a breakfast option, too. :-)

Just mix this...

                                ....And get this!

Another awesome option? Make a big batch, with either cinnamon or cocoa, and add a scoop of chocolate or vanilla protein powder and/or milled flax seeds with a splash of coconut milk and roll into balls to snack on any time! Use more oats for this than the dip, which creates a dough-y texture. Refrigerate the mix for an hour or more before rolling, or it'll be too messy to control. (I cheat and chill it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.) Store in the fridge and enjoy!

The batter should be sticky enough to stay on a spoon without falling off, like this:

I rolled my cinnamon ones in powdered sugar, which is optional. Here's what they look like, along with the chocolate balls:

As you can see, I use Garden of Life Raw Meal protein powder in vanilla, which is bland by itself, but that makes it super easy to blend into all kinds of other flavors, like mint, chocolate, berries, and of course: peanut butter! I get mine from The Vitamin Shoppe, which is also where I get my milled flax seeds.

Whether you use the dip or the snack bites, with or without additives, you'll love the rich flavors that will fill you up without weighing you down! When I get a sweet tooth craving, I can make these and satisfy it without needing butter or sugar.

Yummy!

Turkey Chili and Stock, Served Seperately

I found a few frozen turkey necks in my freezer this morning that a roommate left behind after moving out recently, so I decided to do something with them. I'll be up-front: My process is time consuming.

First, I unthawed them and then plopped them into a pot with enough water to just cover them and simmered for about 2 hours on medium-low heat with the cover on. I added water periodically to keep the necks covered, but if you want to avoid that, just add extra from the start to be safe. You can also do this in a crock pot, if you want to save kitchen time and leave it alone all day.

Once the meat starts falling off the bone, it's done. Put a big bowl in the sink with a colander on top, then slowly pour the contents of the pot into it. The bowl will be full of stock, which you can freeze in baggies or keep in a pitcher or bowl to use for cooking in the near future. 

Now, the meat should look like this.

Now is the part that's kind of annoying: removing the fat, ligaments, and bones. My method is pretty simple. I put the colander in the sink for cleanliness, then I just use my fingers to pick off some meat and rinse it off with cool running water until the fat slides off and then set aside the yummy dark meat. This way, all the mess is contained in the colander and easy to dispose.

Now dispose of the mess and put the meat in a pot. I rinsed out the same pit used for simmering before. Next, I put a big bag of frozen veggies and a couple cans of beans into the colander and rinsed them out before adding them, too.

Now add in two cans of tomato sauce, some minced garlic, chili powder, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, paprika, and crushed red pepper, simmer, adjust spices to taste. Afterwards, serve up and enjoy!

I love it on brown rice with a dallop of sour cream and shredded cheddar on top, on a bed of spinach, or all on its own!

Pinot Grigio Tilapia

This is super yummy and only takes 25 minutes to make in a skillet!

Chop up half of a large onion or one small one. I used a vidalia for its sweet, mild flavor. Melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter or oil with enough pinot grigio to puddle the bottom of a large skillet by about 1/4 inch on high heat and let the onions cook just enough to make the edges clear, then set to simmer on medium-low. Place 2 or 3 fish pieces on top and season with a lemon pepper mixture and as much minced garlic as you please. Once the sides of the fish are bright white, flip it over with a spatula large enough to keep it from breaking up, then layer broccoli on top of everything and let it steam with the flavors already mingling in the pan.

For the next ten minutes, feel free to enjoy a glass of the wine while everything cooks! Then, the easiest way to serve it up is to spoon the broccoli onto the plate first, then use your big spatula to place the tilapia next to it with onions. 

Pour another glass and enjoy!

Coconut flour sweet potato bread

Coconut products are awesome. Even though there are plenty of gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free options out there, coconut ones are my favorite. Coconut oil, milk, and flour are all used in this yummy recipe!

Coconut oil, enough to coat pan

1 1/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato

1/2 cup coconut flour

4 tbsp. applesauce (in lieu of eggs*)

3 tbsp. coconut milk

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 lemon, for juice

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp. honey

1tbsp. Cinnamon

1tsp. Nutmeg

*If you aren't sensitive or allergic to eggs, feel free to use 3 instead of applesauce and then halve the amount of soda used.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Be sure to fluff the coconut flour with a fork and loosely fill up your measuring cup with it, as it's important not to pack it in too densely. The bread is already heavy without doing so. The dough should be moist and thick.

Coat your bread pan with oiland then use a spatula to spread the dough into the pan evenly.

Bake for an hour at 325 degrees, cool, slice, and enjoy!