Pasta-less salad!

Pasta-less salad

Here’s another attempt to take back week nights! It’s Monday, and we can’t forget to fuel our bodies with delicious, whole foods. Here in Mississippi summer is officially upon us. I’ve really been craving pasta salad, but it’s already too hot to even boil water so the spiralizer saved the day. I wanted this salad to have that traditional Zesty Italian dressing flavor but without all of the store bought additives. I combined fresh and dry Italian herbs and tried to get close. This “pasta” salad is just as delicious and filling as the carby kind. All of these ingredients were easy to come by at Kroger, and while there is a bit of involved chopping, this is mostly a straightforward salad. Eat well tonight, friends.

Ingredients
Salad
2 raw zucchinis either spiralized or chopped into very thin one inch rectangles*
1/2 cup black olives finely chopped
1/2 a red pepper finely chopped
1/2 a yellow or orange pepper finely chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes chopped in half
1/2 red onion finely chopped
4 pieces of bacon cooked, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (optional)*

Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons red white vinegar
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp of any fresh or dried Italian herbs on hand – oregano, parsley, thyme
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped or 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt & pepper each
1 clove garlic minced (optional)
3 tablespoons grated parmesan (optional)

Directions: Prepare 4 pieces of bacon! I prefer the oven for ease and speed – typically about 20 minutes at 350 but if you are celebrating meatless Monday, this salad is just as good without the meat. Chop all veggies and mix with your hands in a large bowl. Sprinkle chopped bacon on top or mix in.
Make the dressing: Add all ingredients into either a salad shaker or mason jar and shake until combined. Toss the veggies with the dressing and either chill for 30 minutes or serve immediately!

*Makes about four servings and is even better the next day after veggies have marinated in the dressing!
*Grilled chicken or shrimp would also taste great in this salad! I just happened to only have bacon on hand, and I like to have a protein of some kind in every meal.

Strawberry rhubarb pie (Grain & refined sugar free!)

Happy summer! I’m loving these warmer days but in the midst of the end of school year crunch, I got a little off track on my food lifestyle. I’m going to spend the next month trying to get reset and away from refined sugars and grains. I’ve been missing home and thinking about summers with garden fresh rhubarb. People have been telling me it’s too hot in Mississippi for rhubarb to survive so I settled for store bought. I did a little research on grain free pie crusts and I attempted two different rhubarb recipes. As I experiment more and more with refined sugar free baking, I’m continually impressed with how little I miss the fake stuff. Hope you’ll give this pie a try! It’s a taste of my summers of yore that I can eat without a major sugar hangover.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Ingredients Filling 1/2 cup finely chopped strawberries 1/2 cup finely chopped rhubarb ( 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder Crust 2 cups blanched almond flour 1/4 teaspoon of salt 2 tablespoons ghee (or coconut oil) 1 egg Crumble 1/2 cup almond flour 1/8 cup coconut flour 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 tablespoon ghee Directions Crust: Preheat oven to 350. Either with food processor or by hand, mix salt & almond flour until blended. Add melted & cooled ghee and egg and mix until forms a ball. Place in very lightly oiled pie dish and press into dish. Filling: Mix all ingredients in sauce pan over low heat. Stir occasionally until mixture thickens about 15 minutes. Pour filling into pressed pie crust. Crumble: Mix all ingredients together. Stir lightly until mixture is crumbly texture. If mixture is too moist, add small spoonfuls of almond flour until “crumbly.” Sprinkle mixture on top of filling. Bake pie for 10 minutes at 350 until edges are brown. Let it cool, if you can! The longer it cools the more the pie pieces will hold together. Enjoy!

Taking Back Weeknights: Paleo Ramen Noodle Soup

Hi friends!

Last week, while I was fighting a summer cold, I made a killer Paleo Ramen Noodle Soup that was so quick and easy and packed with flavor and veggies and protein that I just had to share it. This recipe uses spiralized squash noodles instead of ramen noodles, and I promise you won’t miss the grains in the least. Also, there is lots of room for mixing and matching in this recipe, so take the base recipe below and make use of whatever you have on hand – it will turn out delicious, I promise!

Don’t you feel better just looking at it?

Paleo Ramen Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

Broth:

• 2 cups stock (any will do, I used chicken)
• 1 TBS Sesame Oil
• 1/3 cup Coconut Aminos
• 1/3 cup orange juice (I use this primarily as a sweetener; you could also use honey, molasses or brown sugar, depending on your dietary preferences, or leave it out entirely and see how that tastes)
• 1 TBS hot sauce (sriracha would be good here, but I just used my trusty Louisiana Hot Sauce)
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 2 TBS minced ginger
• 1 TBS rice wine vinegar

Add Ins and Toppings:

• 1 thin pork chop (beef or shrimp could also work here!)
• 1 summer squash or zucchini, spiralized (or rice noodles or spaghetti squash noodles, depending on allergies and preferences)
• 1 or 2 eggs
• Snap Peas, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, shaved carrots, bell peppers
• Chopped Cashews or Peanuts, lime wedge, jalapenos, fresh cilantro or basil

Directions:

• Prepare your protein: In a medium sized wok sear your pork chop on all sides over high heat. Err on the side of underdone with your protein, because it will continue cooking in the broth. Remove the pork chop from the pan and allow to rest for a moment.
• Prepare your broth: Turn the heat down to medium and toss your garlic and ginger straight into the wok and allow to caramelize a bit. Then add in the broth, coconut aminos, sesame oil, hot sauce, vinegar and orange juice. Stir well and give the broth a taste. Adjust as needed to your preferences.
• Mix and Match Ingredients: This is my favorite part, friends, because it is basically a choose your own adventure story in a pot. First, thinly slice your pork and spiralize your squash. Then throw your protein, noodles, and whatever add ins you have on hand straight into the pot and let simmer until all ingredients are cooked through. I like to crack an egg straight into the broth and let it cook until it is soft-boiled . If that weirds you out, you could also fry an egg in a separate pan and add it on top or you could skip the egg all together, although that would be sad. So so so sad. You’ll want to be strategic with your cook times here – fresh, delicate, veggies should go in last (think snap peas, peppers, etc), but eggs and carrots will take longer. Your protein can also be a bit tricky because you don’t want it to get over done and become tough. I usually throw it in right at the end unless it is much less done than I prefer or is safe, in which case, I’ll put it in when I put the egg in. All told, you’ll probably need to let things simmer for 3 to 6 minutes.
• Add Toppings: As a bonus, you can top this with chopped peanuts or cashews, a lime wedge, fresh basil or cilantro, jalepeno slices, avocado slices or a fried egg. #nom