5 OF MY FAVORITE HEALTHY RECIPES

Hope you all had a great Easter! We sure enjoyed ours. I have been saying for quite some time now that I will be sharing some healthy recipes with you all. So that is what this entry is all about!  By healthy I mean.. Clean

-NOT PROCESSED

-GLUTEN FREE

-DAIRY FREE

-WHOLE FOODS

This may not be someone else's "healthy" but this is how I am currently eating. You can substitute anything or everything. For example: I am just going to say tortilla, and you can chose if its flour, corn, or gluten free tortillas. I will say that I do not deprive myself of anything, and there are some days where I eat all the food that I listed on my "do not eat, list".  If I want to eat an entire tin can of Pirouline, cookies, then I will! (Just like I did the other night)  But, this is not something I do everyday.   I do not have an allergy to gluten or dairy, I just do not like how they make me feel when I eat them in excess, so I try to avoid them as much as I can.  I am also trying to keep Gavin on a gluten and dairy free diet....which is a little difficult since the other 2 boys have already been exposed to certain foods that they don't want to give up. If I incorporate just a few meals a week that do fit into the above criteria, then the transition is a little easier.

I also must add that I do not have a Type A personality so I never follow recipes exactly ( I am sorry for all of you that are, and will probably go nuts after reading my recipes) Instead of 1/2 tsp. I may say 2 shakes of cinnamon...It is horrible and there are some circumstances where my recipes turned out DISGUSTING because I didn't follow the directions exactly...but for the recipes below I made them up and tweaked them a little until I liked them. Feel free to do the same.

#1. Fish Tacos with Jalapeño Coleslaw

This one is pretty straight forward...

-Bake, grill, or sauté your favorite fish, however you would like it.
-Chose a grain to go with it, rice, brown rice, quinoa, etc.


- Jalapeño Coleslaw:
(I DO NOT like coleslaw, I actually can't stand it, and I HATE SPICY FOODS, but this is amazing...I promise)
Depending on how many you are feeding will determine how much you will make...use your best judgement, like making a salad.
-Chop up a half head of cabbage (red or green, but I prefer red) into very small pieces, almost like skinny tiny strips.
- Do the same for a carrot or 2
- Dice up 2 jalapeños, and make sure you get out ALL the seeds or it will be very spicy.
-add 2 small splashes of apple cider vinegar (lol told you)
- add a little less than 1/4 cup of honey (or to your preference)
-throw in a few shakes of poppy seeds
- add in about 1/2 cup(once again add or take away based on your judgement, and how much you are making) of mayo (this can be Veganaise, greek yogurt, or plain ole Helmanns) whatever you prefer.
-add the juice of about 1/2 of a lime
-chop some cilantro and throw that in too.
Let this chill in the refrigerator for a few hours, so make ahead. Stuff your tortillas with your fish, grains, beans, any other toppings you want and add coleslaw on top.



#2.  Red Quinoa Burgers

Make sure you cook the quinoa before you add to the meat. Make sure its drained and not holding a lot of water.

-1lb ground beef
-1- 1and a 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa
-1 egg
-a few shakes of salt and pepper (to taste)
- garlic (fresh or powder)
-dice up about half an onion.

Smash it all together with your hands and form the patties. They will be extra mushy if the quinoa was holding a lot of water, but this is ok. Just make them into the best patty you can put them on a plate or a tray and stick them into the refrigerator for 30 min. Then grill!

Add whatever toppings you like...I like feta cheese, with avocado and tomato.
Enjoy!



#3.  Spaghetti with secret veggie sauce (sorry no picture)

-Ok so this recipe is one of my favorites but I am not going to tell you how to make pasta or to add meat or not....that will be left of to you. I personally do add meat, and I make gluten free, brown rice angle hair pasta.

-For the sauce: You will need a very powerful blender or this will not turn out how you want it to. I use a Vitamix, so use something similar... Ninja, Blendtec.. etc. You don't have to do this but the veggies will not be a secret :( you will have small tiny minute pieces and your kids WILL see them.

-Pick your favorite store bought sauce or make your own with tomatoes.  To save some time I use an organic tomato sauce out of the jar. Pour half in the blender.

-Next you want to sauté or steam 3 carrots, 2-4 garlic cloves (depending on how much you like garlic) half an onion, 2 celery stalks spinach or kale.  Not a ton of the spinach or kale because you don't want it to turn green (unless you want to turn it into "Hulk Sauce" or something of that nature.)

- Add all the veggies into the blender and blend on high for about 30 seconds. Next add this to the remainder or the sauce you have and heat it up. Add meat, salt and pepper or whatever else you want, and serve over your pasta.

#4. No grain banana protein muffins

- 2 or 3 very ripe bananas, smashed
- 3 eggs
- 1 tspn of honey
-1/4 cup of coconut flour
-1/2 cup of oat flour (you can make your own if you have a Vitamix, or something similar)
-1/2 tspn of baking soda
-1/2 tspn of baking powder
-1 tspn of vanilla
- 1/4 cup of coconut oil (or any oil will work)
a few shakes of cinnamon
Optional: I add half of a scoop of protein powder in the mix...this can be any kind or flavor you would like. I also add chocolate chips to mine, but make sure they are REAL chocolate and make sure they are made with cacao over 60%. That way you don't have to feel bad about eating chocolate because its good for you!

Mix all ingredients together, put in muffin pans, in the cupcake inserts because it will stick and bake at 375 degrees for 15-22 min or until center is done.

#5. Soba Noodle Stir Fry (sorry no picture)

This recipe is pretty much self explanatory...make your own stir fry, however soba noodles are my new "lo mein" choice.  The soba noodles I use are buckwheat so they are a lot healthier for you than the lo mein and they taste almost identical.

Basic instructions: Chop some of your favorite veggies and sauté them in lots of coconut oil. I like to use carrots, onions, zucchini...just to name a few. After they are sautéed, depending on what mood I am in I will add some flavor.  Some times it will be a teriyaki, soy mixture, and sometimes I add turmeric powder and butter. You can add whatever you want.  You can cook chicken or another meat and add it to this mixture as well and then serve over the cooked soba noodles.

I would love to hear back from you if you try any of these and also if you put your own spin on some of them. I am always looking for new recipes and new ways of cooking. Please let me hear your feedback.

Once I can get my frazzled brain thinking straight, I can sit down and write up some more recipes to share.  Hope ya'll enjoy!