EZ Eats: Steak, Pumpkin, and Okra

E grilled the steak while I baked the okra and bell pepper mix. I served this with a side of mashed pumpkin and honey leftover from the pumpkin bars. (I skipped the pumpkin because it is high carb.) We also had a side salad, not pictured. 

Roasted Okra

I love fried okra! But my days of gluten eating are long gone. I decided to try just plain okra in the oven and it turned out amazing! E said it is his favorite side dish. Its funny because people will look at you funny when you say you eat okra that hasn't been pickled or fried. Apparently my parents' generation ate some nasty okra back in the day.

*I used a whole orange bell pepper, and soy sauce in this picture.

Here is the yummy recipe.
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
Fresh or frozen okra cut into circles
1 tbs butter or coconut oil
2 tsp Garlic Salt
Optional* 1 tbs Gluten free soy sauce or aminos

Directions:
Grease a dark cookie sheet, not the insulated kind with half of butter. Cut the okra into discs and spread out on the cookie sheet so all okra is touching the sheet. Drizzle the remaining butter over the okra and sprinkle with garlic salt. If you want to add soy sauce it gives it a great taste! You may want to cut back on the garlic salt if you use soy sauce. I make it both ways depending on my mood. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes mixing around halfway through. 1 bag of frozen okra makes about 3 servings.

Health notes: Okra is a yummy way to get your Vitamin C, K, A and folate. It also has a decent amount of fiber to help you digest the rest of your meal!

Paleo Chicken Strips

I have been trying to avoid the Paleo label because I don't want people to think certain meals are only for people who follow a Paleo diet! The meals I post are what I considered to be healthy for everyone. Not to mention they are quite tasty! The recipe I adapted this from calls for almond meal as the batter so they are gluten, grain, and dairy free!! They go great with a side of spicy mayo.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup almond meal or 1/2 cup almonds (do not waste your money buying this! You can make it easily!)
1 egg
2 tsp favorite seasoning (I used my chipotle seasoning. Salt and pepper work great! Garlic salt is another one of my fav's)
2lbs of chicken strips (I buy these in 0.7lb packs and I use 3. You can buy breasts and slice them up yourself if you fancy.)
2 tbs coconut oil for frying

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet on the stove. I put it on medium-high. While this is heating grind up your almonds into a meal, a fine powder. Pour the meal into 1 bowl and add in your seasonings of choice. In a separate bowl crack the egg and stir it to mix the white and yolk. When your oil is hot start dredging your chicken. Dip the chicken strip into the egg first then the almond meal and toss it into the pan. Keep going until your pan is full. Cook on one side for about 6 minutes. Leave it alone during these 6 minutes so that the batter can set. After 6 minutes, or when the almond meal has darkened flip the chicken to the other side. I use tongs. Cook on this side for 6 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Remove this batch and keep warm. Repeat all steps until you have cooked all of your chicken. Using my largest pan, I can do this in 2 batches. This makes enough for 4-6 people. We love leftovers around here! I served mine with baked okra, sweet potato fries, and avocado.

Health Notes: Almonds again! Remember not to eat almonds excessively, but other than that this meal is uber healthy in Paleo terms! No gluten, grains, or dairy. Chicken is a great lean protein, but make sure to check your source. I have gotten away from buying frozen chicken because I'm skeptical about what process manufacturers go through to frost the chicken.

Chocolate Mousse

This recipe came about by accident when I was staring into my fridge looking for something sweet to munch on after lunch. It's been a "sweets" filled weekend! I need to get back on track and limit my treats. Being home all day does not help!

Printable Recipe

Here is the recipe:

1 cup of whipping cream or canned coconut milk

1 tbs honey (buy locally!)

1 heaping tbs of cocoa powder

Combine in a blender or food processor. I use the paddle attachment on my ninja. Blend until the mixture thickens and becomes the texture of mousse! The blending time will vary depending on the temperature of the cream and what you are using to blend. You can use a hand blender, or an immersion blender as well. Serve immediately or store in a sealed container in the fridge. 

Health notes: I am torn between using  the canned coconut milk and cream. Both work well but both have drawbacks. Cream is a dairy product and doesn't have the best fatty acid profile. Not to mention all the toxins that could be lurking in the fat. It does not promote weight loss. On the other hand I hate using canned food because of the BPA lining. I guess we'll just have to pick our poison ;)

EZ Eats: Zucchini Lasagna

E is a huge pasta fan. Ever since we cut out gluten I have been trying to find good alternatives to pasta. This lasagna is made from zucchini and is super easy to cook up. I cook a big batch of this so E and I can have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3 zucchini or yellow squash works too

1 jar pasta sauce or try my homemade version

2lbs ground beef cooked (leave this out for a vegan/vegetarian option)

Italian seasoning

Cheese (optional)

Mushrooms, black olives, spinach

Preheat oven to 350F. In a skillet brown ground beef and drain. Add sauce to the meat. Slice zucchini into circles and make 1 layer in a 13x9" pan. Cover with half of sauce mixture. Toss in mushrooms, black olives and spinach if you fancy. Make another layer of zucchini. Cover with the rest of the meat sauce. If using cheese sprinkle on top. Bake for 30 min until zucchini is tender. We don't like ours to be completely translucent. Serve with a side salad or as a stand alone meal! 

Health notes: Nothing unhealthy here! Remember to buy lean beef and check the label of your marinara sauce. You wouldn't want to spoil the meal with a sauce that has a hidden agenda. Avoid sauces that have added sugar and are made with seed oils. If you can't find any of these locally try my homemade tomato sauce recipe. For the cheese: we do not currently eat dairy. Since nixing dairy my sinuses and digestion has greatly improved. That being said, I can tolerate cheeses that are made from raw milk meaning it hasn't undergone the pasteurization processes. They tend to be healthier for your gut because they haven't been processed. 

Steak Kabobs

Kabobs are a great way to mix things up and enjoy grilled veggies. They're easy to make too!

Ingredients:

1lb of stew meat or other red meat cut into chunks (I had this on hand and it is a cheaper cut of meat, so it's wallet friendly)

1 bell pepper cut into chunks

2 jalepeño peppers cut into chunks

5 mushrooms cut in half

Cherry tomatoes

Season salt

How to:

Pile all the ingredients onto your skewers. I separated mine into a veggie skewer and a steak skewer. Sprinkle with season salt. Throw on the grill until the meat is cooked through and the veggies start to blacken slightly. This should only take 10-15 minutes. E is the grill man at our house, so it's nice to have a little break from doing all the cooking.

I served these with a side of spicy mayo and a salad. We even threw some chicken on the grill to save time for lunch the next day.  Also pictured is my egg salad with homemade mayo which will be part of the next day's lunch as well. 

Watermelon Margaritas

We visited Eric's Grandpa this weekend, and I wanted to make him a treat. I saw the idea for watermelon margaritas on Pinterest, where else?! The pin didn't have a recipe, so I did some research and came up with my own. It took us awhile to find a store that sold alcohol, and E got a little grumpy along the way...the margarita was the perfect cure.

Ingredients for 1 margarita:
1 cup of watermelon
1-2 shots of tequila, we like Jose Cuervo Gold around these parts
1/2 lime
1/2 cup Club Soda

How to:
Blend the tequila and watermelon. We used an immersion blender because that was all Grandpa had on hand. If you want to make a large batch feel free to use a large blender and double or quadruple the recipe! Pour the puree into a glass of ice and scoop off the foam at the top. Squeeze half a lime into the glass and drop the lime in. Pour in the Club Soda and give it a good stir. If you're feeling fancy you can salt your glass before serving. These are great for a summer night on the porch.

We drank our margaritas with grilled chicken, a tossed salad, and roasted squash and zucchini.

Health notes: Of course alcohol is not particularly healthy, but like most things it is ok in moderation. If you are looking to lose weight, avoid alcohol until you meet your goal and then only use it in moderation. This recipe does not have any added sugar making it the perfect alternative to a pre-made margarita mix!

Enjoy!

Dairy Free Chocolate Milk

This is a great recipe to curb sugar cravings without trashing all of your hard work. I needed a treat during a certain time of the month in order to keep my sanity and what could be better than a cold glass of chocolate milk? (yeah, I could think of a lot of other things, mostly detrimental to my health ;)) Anywho, this is a tasty treat that I like to enjoy on occasion. It's easy to make, and tasty too!

What you need:

1 cup Almond milk

1/2 cup ice cubes

2 tbs of honey

2-4 tbs of cocoa powder depending on how chocolatey you want it. I go for 4 and it tastes more like dark chocolate

high speed blender

How:

Put everything into the blender and process on high until smooth. Pour into a glass and sip through a straw! You can do a different variation of this where you add an avocado and a handful of frozen blueberries to make it thick and more milkshake-y. You could even add cinnamon to give it a boost. There are endless variations.

Remember to limit how much sugar you eat daily even the natural forms like fruit, honey, and pure maple syrup. And don't forget that almonds are meant to be an occasional eat. This recipe is meant to be a treat, not an everyday drink (unless you're training for a marathon and need the extra calories and carbohydrates).

Pumpkin Bread

I came across Detoxinista.com on Pinterest and I love her recipes! She caters to all healthy tastes; vegan, vegetarian, cleansing, paleo, etc. I've tried a few of her recipes and one that I love is her Pumpkin bread!! It's super easy. Relatively healthy and a good snack for the ever hungry husband. I made these last week and again this weekend when we were staying at Grandpa Camper's house. He's my new favorite person for numerous reasons. 1. he has read "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes, 2. He has an awesome porch equipped with an apple tree (we are hoping for applesauce making lessons in July) 3. He has a solar powered camper(namesake) and 4. He had so much to tell us about life! Now that I've successfully gone off on a tangent here is this Pumpkin bread treat recipe.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond butter (you can make this yourself. I will post a tutorial. You can also substitute peanut butter, but peanuts are an inflammatory food and are technically a legume)

1/2 cup pumpkin purée (about half a can if you can't find baking pumpkins which btw are not the same as carving pumpkins! Here is my pumpkin puree recipe)

1/4 cup honey (the original recipe calls for 1/3 cup, but I wanted to lower the sugar count)

2 eggs

1/3 tsp baking soda

1tsp vanilla

1-2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have this on hand, you can make your own from nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger)

Pinch of salt (I like to leave this out because the amount of bacon I eat keeps my sodium intake high! ;))

Preheat oven to 350*F. Combine all ingredients in a KitchenAid with the whisk attachment or whisk by hand. Pour into a 9x9 baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes. Stick a fork, knife or toothpick into the middle to see if it is done. If it comes out clean its done. If not bak another 2 min and test again until your utensil comes out clean! Cut into squares and serve! We store our leftovers in the refrigerator and I love the way it tastes cold. Grandpa Camper suggested serving it with ice cream, but we didn't have any and that's hard on our tummies. 

Health stats:

This does not have any inflammatory ingredients and is a great snack if you limit your portion. I suggest a 1" square as your serving size. You could get away with 2. Nuts are healthy as long as your intake is limited to a handful or less a day. More than that can cause weight gain and gut irritation in the form of bloating and constipation. Almonds which are technically a seed, are high in omega-6 and phytic acid. Our goal with omega fatty acids is to have a 1:1 ratio of omega-6/omega-3. The average American diet is HIGH in omega-6, so it is important to limit your omega-6 intake. This article has a great explanation of the pros/cons of our nutty friends.

Watermelon, Berries, and Whipped Cream

I was inspired by this fabulous watermelon cake on Pinterest to make whipped cream. I was too lazy to decorate a watermelon all fancy so I decided to go for a dipping method instead! It turned out great! I'm trying to stay away from dairy most days, but I do eat cheese made from raw milk and occasionally use cream. Cream is ok in moderation and tends not to be inflammatory because it is mainly fat. The inflammation caused by dairy is from the protein casein and the sugar lactose. So in my book cream is ok on special occasions or splashed into your coffee in the morning. Just don't go overboard! Coconut milk from the can can also be used to make whipped cream. My only issue is the BPA that lines cans. The coconut milk from the carton did not work for me, but I did read on another blog that it was possible to whip carton coconut milk (I do not think the author tested her claims!). Onto the good stuff.

Printable Recipe

How to make whipped cream:

1. Pour the desired amount of cream into a blender. The small 8oz carton serves 2 hungry hippos like my husband and me. (If you're still hooked on sugar you can add a dash of the sweetener of your choice, but I do not recommend it for optimal health) You can also use a food processor, kitchen aid or immersion blender. I use the paddle attachment on my Ninja blender. 
2. Blend on a low setting. The liquid will all of the sudden puff up and look like whipped cream. 
3. Blend another 30 seconds to thicken. Do not over blend! This will cause the cream to be too buttery. It should not take more than 2 minutes to thicken. 
4. Pour the cream into a bowl and top with berries and sliced almonds. You can eat it like this with a spoon or dip watermelon in it. The sugar in the fruit will make it taste sweet! You can use any variation of fruits.  

Health Notes: Berries are the healthiest fruit in my opinion because they are full of antioxidants are not packed with sugar. Bananas and oranges are loaded with sugar and starch so if you're trying to trim up stay away from those. If you're my husband, EZ, feel free to load up on the starchy sugars. 

Now What? Mayo Sequel

So you have all this heart healthy mayo and you're wondering to yourself, "How will I use this all in a week?" I have the answer for you!

Here are some options:

Egg Salad
2 hard-boiled eggs
2-3 tbs of mayo
1tsp Sriracha (this can be left out and doesn't have the best ingredients, but for the minuscule amount used, your body should be able to tolerate it)

Combine ingredients and serve on gluten free bread (we do not eat grains around here because they are inflammatory food, and carbs are directly linked to clogged arteries and weight gain, but if you are a freak of nature who the rules don't apply to, i.e. my husband get on with your bad self. i do recommend avoiding gluten/wheat products at all costs.), eat it all by its lonesome, or make a lettuce wrap using my personal fav, butter lettuce. Serves 1 person

Chicken Salad
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
2-3 tbs mayo
1/2 medium avocado

We grilled last night, so I threw on some extra chicken. You could also bake, or cook in a skillet on the stove. To shred the chicken, my momma says to use 2 forks, my sister would say throw it in the food processor. I chose the 2 forks because there is less clean up. Mix all the ingredients together until well mashed. Serve the same as the egg salad. Serves 1 person

Spicy Mayo
3 tbs mayo
1 tsp Sriracha

You can tailor this to increase or decrease the amt. Serve with stir-fry or homemade sushi rolls.

Coleslaw
1 cup shredded cabbage mix
1-2 tbs of mayo
1 tsp Sriracha

Mix all ingredients together and serve chilled. I added chunks of avocado and cherry tomatoes to this and ate it as a salad for lunch.

Ranch Dressing
1 cup Paleo Mayo
1/2 tsp dried parsely
1/2 tbs dill
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Combine all ingredients and whisk together until well combined!

Chocolate Puppy Chow

I made some chocolate puppy chow for my swimmer's too, and I didn't spill this batch!

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Soup

I got the idea for this recipe from a health magazine tweet. I cannot for the life of me find the original recipe.

What you'll need:
2 cups of pureed pumpkin
2 cups broth or tomato soup
1-2 roasted red peppers
1/2 cup sour cream
Splash of lemon juice
1 tbls of garlic
1/3 cup peanut butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Crushed red pepper for Heat
2 tbsp olive oil

In a large pot add olive oil and garlic until browned. Add all ingredients except the roasted red pepper. Bring to a simmer. Toss in the peppers. Simmer for a few minutes then transfer to a food processor. Process till smooth. We grated a little bit of mozzarella as garnish. The blending cools the soup off so you may want to reheat it.  Or you could just process the red pepper before you add it into the soup. This was the perfect dish for a cold fall night!! It confuses me that Winter doesn't start until mid-December...so weird. We enjoyed out soup before a trip to see Christmas lights!! Yes I know its a little bit early, but it was one of my last nights in Iowa. I had to see 'em while I could!

Mini Lasagna Cups

I've had these pinned on Pinterest forever, and finally got around to buying wonton wrappers (used instead of noodles).

What you'll need:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1-2 cups spaghetti sauce
• 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese (you can use ricotta, but we had cottage on hand and it works exactly the same and is cheaper)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano, basil
• 24 wonton wrappers
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Brown the ground beef in a skillet
3. Remove from heat
4. Add spaghetti sauce, spices, and salt to the skillet 
5. Grease a muffin pan
6. Line each well with 1 wonton wrapper
7. Spoon cottage cheese, then meat/sauce into each well
8. Repeat steps 5 and 6 two more times
9. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of each well
10. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes. The tips of the wonton wrappers will look crisp, but make sure the bottom is done, otherwise it will be doughy.

        

We served ours with french bread and a side of stir-fried asparagus.

Update: I forgot to mention that these were really good!! I liked it better than regular lasagna and I think it was a little easier to prepare. EZ had his reheated for lunch the next day and said they were still really good.

Turkey Meatballs

I'm always trying to find something new and filling to cook while I've been in Hobbs. Its so different cooking for 4 people compared to 1. We had some ground turkey in the freezer and I wanted pasta that night, so I thought of turkey meatballs. After a quick internet search I came across these. I used the recipe as a guideline, but for those of you who like to go by the book here's what you'll need:

1-2lbs of ground turkey
1/2 cup ritz crackers crumbled
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 tbs minced basil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano and thyme
A sprinkle of red pepper flakes
1/3 cup flour for dredging


Mix together all of the ingredients minus the flour by hand and form into balls. In a separate bowl add the flour and dredge each ball in the flour. In a large skillet heat some olive oil. Add the meatballs to the pan and brown on all sides. They should take about 10 minutes to cook. Make sure the insides have cooked through before serving. 


For the pasta I just did store bought tomato sauce and added black olives. We used whole wheat penne pasta just following the directions on the packaging. The meatballs were the best I've ever add, I think because the sour cream made them so soft. 
Enjoy!!