Cozy Root Vegetable Soup

I've made this delightful soup twice in the last week!

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 small butternut squash
• 3 carrots
• 2 parsnips
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, oregano
• olive oil 
• 2 boxes chicken broth
• 2 lbs boneless chicken (breast or thighs)
• 4-5 kale leaves

Step 1: 

Peel, chop and roast veggies at 425 for 30 minutes or until you can get a fork through it the tough veggies. 

Step 2: 

Boil chicken in filtered water until cooked through then shred. 

Step 3: 

Pour broth (except for 1 cup) into large soup pot with handfuls of the dried spices (I'm bad with measurements- I just do what tastes good).  Add in the chicken shreds and start to warm. 

Step 4: 

Take your roasted veggies (excluding onions and garlic) and put half of them into the soup. The other half, place in high power blender with the 1 cup of broth and blend thoroughly. 

Step 5:

Add in pureed veggies to the rest of the soup along with your chopped up kale leaves. Heat everything together for 10 minutes and then serve! 

This was wonderful when served with Kim's Southern Style Biscuits!

October = Pumpkin Cheesecake

It's the most wonderful time of the year! FALL <3 What better way is there to celebrate than with a healthy pumpkin cheesecake? I've tweaked a few things on a recipe from Maria Emmerich and my version got rave reviews.

Crust:
11/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup Swerve
1 cup coconut oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 free range egg
pinch of sea salt
*add 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and a few drops of liquid stevia to make it a chocolate crust!

Filling:
2 bars organic neufchâtel cheese or cream cheese
1 can organic pumpkin
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tbsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
3/4 cup swerve
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 free range eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all crust ingredients and evenly press down in to pie pan and up the sides. Bake crust by itself for 15 minutes and remove.

Whip together cream cheese and swerve. Add in pumpkin,spices and vanilla, combine thoroughly. Add in one egg at a time until full incorporated. Taste to see if it needs any added sweetener or spice.

Pour batter over crust and bake for 45-55 minutes until center is set. Best after chilled for a few hours!

Green Smoothie!

Every single day we need to eat AT LEAST 5 servings of vegetables. Most people need up to 15 servings (especially those fighting disease or elderly) to maintain proper nutrition. A great way to incorporate more greens is by throwing them all in a smoothie! Here is an idea of a great green smoothie. There are endless combinations!

• celery
• green apple
• kale
• spinach
• broccoli 
• cucumber
• grated fresh ginger root 
• lemon juice 
• coconut water
• frozen pineapple
• frozen strawberries 

I don't measure anything so i just chop up a handful of each veggie or fruit, throw it in the vitamix, add a splash of lemon juice, a TBSP or so of grated ginger and cover the blades with coconut water and turn it on for at least a minute. 

Raspberry Rhubarb Crumble

I will occasionally become inspired to purchase a fresh produce ingredient that I've never worked with before just for the heck of it. I am ashamed to admit that usually it will sit in the fridge and slowly wilt while I try to muster the courage to do something meaningful with it. I am proud to say that I got it right with the long, lovely rhubarb stalks I picked up on the first of August...

• 3 large rhubarb stalks chopped
• 1 bag frozen raspberries
• Swerve
• Stevia 
• almond flour
• cold pasture butter 
• handful of whatever random nuts/seeds you have in the pantry 
• lemon juice

In a large bowl combine the frozen raspberries (or whatever berries you choose) and rhubarb. Add about 1/2 cup of swerve, a few drops of liquid stevia (or powder) and a splash of lemon juice. Toss around so fruit is coated in sweetie goodness (taste to make sure it's sweet/tart enough for you). Let this sit. 

Next take very cold butter and cut it up into 1/2 inch cubes. In another bowl place 1 cup of almond flour and then add in the cold butter chunks. You will now massage the almond flour into the butter cubes. Once the butter and almond flour is married you may now add in 1/2-3/4 cup of Swerve and chopped nuts (I used slivered almond, walnuts and pecan chunks) to the mix. At this point I advise placing crumble topping and fruit bowl in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. 

After that pour the fruit into a baking dish and sprinkle the crumble topping over. Resist the urge to press it down. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until top is crispy and fruit is bubbly. Serve warm or chilled. It's amazing on its own but for a divine experience try with vanilla bean ice cream or coconut ice cream. 

Tortillas!

We are always looking to recreate favorite meals in a healthier way. One that I feared we'd never get right was the tortilla. We have tried the Ezekiel tortillas and they really didn't make the cut. They fall apart and still are grain based. The first time I tried this simple amazing grainless tortilla recipe I knew we'd never go back to substandard tortillas!

• 1 and 1/4 cup almond flour
• 5 Tbsp psyllium husk powder
• 2 free range eggs
• pinch of salt 
• 1 cup boiling water 

Sift together almond flour, salt and psyllium then add in the 2 eggs. Add the boiling water and mix thoroughly until dough becomes less sticky. Take 2 pieces of parchment paper and flatten out a ball of the dough until rather thin. I have a great cast iron pancake skillet (very flat and shallow) that I use to fry the tortillas. Heat up some coconut oil on low/medium. Carefully coax the flattened tortilla dough to fall off the parchment piece and place it on the pan. I like to tilt the pan so that the coconut oil reaches all parts of the tortilla. I also like to sprinkle a little salt on the not cooked side. Once the edges look slightly crisp flip it over and cook the other side. 

You can use these tortillas for just about anything. The first time I made them I made fajitas using some local grass fed sirloin steak from Vineyard Farms. Since then I've used ground beef and grass fed cheese to make quesadilla which are now a weekly favorite! 

Grainless Pizza Crust

This is my FAVORITE advanced plan pizza crust...

• 1 and 1/4 cup almond flour 
• 1/4 cup unflavored protein powder (I use egg white protein)
• 4 Tbsp Psyllium husk powder
• 2 Tbsp Italian spices
• 2 Tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• tsp pink salt
• 1 cup boiling filtered water 

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all dry ingredient and set water to boil. Scramble eggs in a separate bowl then add to dry mix. Combine as much as possible then add boiling water. Stir for a minute or so to fully incorporate. Dough will be pretty sticky. Cut 2 pieces of parchment to the size of your baking pan. Place on piece on the pan and place dough in the center. Top with the other piece of parchment and use a drinking glass or rolling pin to roll out the dough to desired thickness. Bake for 20 minutes then remove from oven. Cover with desired sauce, cheese, toppings etc... 

Turkey Burgers with Avocado Pesto

My new mortar and pestle inspired me to make pesto!

Pesto 

• 3 Cups Fresh Basil (tightly packed)
• small handful of sunflower seeds
• handful of almonds
• 4-5 TBSP EVOO
• juice of 1 freshly squeezed lemon 
• sea salt & pepper to taste
• 1 large garlic clove shredded 
• 1 large ripe avocado 

 Throw all the ingredients except avocado in your food processor or VitaMix and pulse until thoroughly combined. Scoop avocado into your mortar and add a few tablespoons of pesto. Mash together, adding a few spoonfuls at a time until desired consistency is achieved. Add more lemon juice, salt or pepper as needed. 

Turkey Burger 

• 1-2 lbs of free range ground turkey (dark meat)
• Curry, turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, red pepper flakes 

Add desired amounts of spices to turkey meat and combine thoroughly. Heat up 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil in a deep pan or cast iron skillet. Form into 1/3 lb patties and get both sides nicely browned and crispy. Once the outside of the burger is the way you want it, finish cooking in a 350 degree oven until cooked all the way through.  Top turkey burger with a generous scoop of avocado pesto! Serve with a hearty kale salad. 

**For a light summery dish make raw zucchini noodles with a mandolin or vegetable spiralizer and toss noodles in basil pesto.