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Monday, January 30, 2012

Massage Kale Salad

1 large bunch kale
1/4 cup red onion (I would omit next time or else chop large so it can be removed-the flavor was great but I don't care for raw onions)
Raw sunflower seeds
1 granny smith apple
Handful craisins
Sea Salt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Massage the kale with sea salt until it wilts/shrivels-2-3 minutes (perfect job for my 4 year old)
2. Cut onions and apples and toss with sunflower seeds and craisins into the kale.
3. Add the vinegar and olive oil and mix together.

Really, you could add/omit any vegetables, nuts, or seeds to make this salad different. It was light and refreshing as an appetizer, but would be super tasty as a meal with a grilled chicken breast or grilled fish. Next time, I might also add some cucumbers and cherry tomatoes! My 4 year old gobbled up all but the onions of this yummy and super healthy salad!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Cinnamon Swirl Blueberry Muffins


So, I found this great recipe blog-The Almond Flour-and immediately decided that I needed to try some baking from this site! I altered it a bit since I was out of a few items, and I added the blueberries and these were awesome!

Dairy Free Muffin Batter
1/2 C brown rice flour (the original called for coconut flour, but I was out)
1 C blanched almond flour
2 scoops MILA chia seed (1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1/4 C coconut milk
1/3 C honey
1 cup fresh blueberries

Cinnamon Swirl
1/4 C honey (or less, they were super sweet)
1/4 C melted organic butter (coconut oil would make this dairy free)
2 T cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (next time I would add even more of these)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk egg, coconut milk, vanilla, and honey together. Then, slowly add dry ingredients (salt, Chia seed, almond flour, brown rice flour, and baking soda and whisk until lumps are gone-batter will be quite thin!
3. Optional: Add blueberries (the original recipe did not have any berries, but this made them so gooey and sweet) and stir together.
4. Scoop batter into lined muffin tins (makes 12 large or more smaller muffins)
5. Melt butter or coconut oil and then whisk together the butter, honey, cinnamon, and walnuts until combined well.
6. Spoon a teaspoon (or more) of the swirl topping onto each muffin-use a toothpick to swirl it around a bit.
7. Bake for about 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

These were so tasty, and I can't wait to make them again! They didn't last long in our house! I also thought these might be tasty in a loaf pan served at a brunch! Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Weekly Meal Plan 1/15-1/22

January has been a busy month for us so far and this week is no exception. Cold weather has finally set in and winter has arrived. Keep in mind that I do daycare several days a week so these are all meals that most kids will eat as well. Plus, if you repeatedly train them, they will learn to eat healthier meals! Here was my meal plan for this week!

Sunday:
Lunch-Grilled chicken salads
Dinner-Dinner out at Jason's Deli (organic salad bar-yum)

Monday:
Lunch-Chicken Wild Rice Soup with homemade stock
Dinner-Wild Rice Stuffed Chicken Breasts with roasted sweet potato fries and steamed veggies

Tuesday:
Lunch-leftover wild rice soup
Dinner-Beef Brisket with green beans and a side salad (this would have been good over brown rice, in a sprouted grain tortilla, or even on a salad but I ate it plain)

Wednesday:
Lunch-Grilled chicken sausages, roasted red potatoes, steamed peas and carrots
Dinner-Spaghetti with brown rice pasta (If I do not have the ingredients or time to make my own sauce, I try to keep a few jars on hand-read labels and make sure they do not have added sugar-Organicville and Classico are two that I've seen)

Thursday:
Lunch-Leftover Spaghetti with raw veggies
Dinner-Roasted whole chicken with Rice Pilaf and Roasted Chickpeas

Friday:
Lunch-Chicken Broccoli Mushroom Casserole
Dinner-Crockpot Salsa Chicken Taco Soup


Saturday:
Lunch-leftovers from the week
Dinner-Homemade pizza with chicken sausages, mushrooms, and tomatoes-raw, organic cheese and organic tomato pizza sauce. I am trying a pamela's gluten free crust!

Thinking ahead for next week:
Taco Soup (My daughter's favorite so we'll have that sometime next week)
Baked Eggplant, Mushrooms, and Zucchini (My favorite)
Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps (Hubby's favorite)

Snacks you may see around our house this week:
Blueberry Muffins with cinnamon glaze (new-I'll post this tomorrow)
Trail Mix
Fruit-Pineapple, Clementine Oranges, and Grapes are the faves right now!Link

Friday, January 13, 2012

Gluten-Free Brownies

Some of you could not get over the beans in the Black Bean Brownies so here is a different recipe for gluten-free brownies. Now, with the dark chocolate chips (unless you skipped them or went with like 90%) there is a bit of sugar in here but not much. The batter was super tasty!

1/2 cup organic butter, melted
1/2 cup raw honey (agave or stevia would also work I am sure)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (the recipe I adapted suggested mint extract for a special minty flavor)
2 organic eggs
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1 scoop MILA chia seed
1/4 tsp. sea salt
5 Tbsp. Raw Cocoa Powder
Handful Dark (70%) Chocolate Chips (optional) or raw walnuts might be tasty!

1. Mix together wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients and stir well.
2. Pour mix into greased 8 x 8 or 8-9 inch round pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy!

*Note: The recipe also had adaptations for vegans (coconut oil instead of butter, super dark chocolate melted instead of cocoa powder, applesauce instead of eggs)