Lemon Ginger Ale Beverage

Ingredients:


- One lemon
- small piece of ginger
- stevia, to taste
- water

Directions:


Peel yellow skin off lemon, leaving as much of the white, nutritious flesh as possible.  Cut lemon in half.  Use paring knife to remove the seeds that are noticeable. 

Peel ginger.

Place ginger, lemon, water, and stevia in blender and blend on high until thoroughly processed (approximately 30 seconds, depending on the blender).

Pour into glass and enjoy!

Mango Delight

Ingredients:

- Frozen mango
- stevia, to taste (optional)
- water


Directions:

Break mango into pieces small enough for blender to handle.  Place in blender and add enough water to blend.  I use a Vitamix blender and use the tamper to help, if necessary.  Blend on high and add stevia to taste.

 Pour into a glass and enjoy with a spoon or straw! 

Bunnicula's Carrot Top Soup Medley

Ingredients:

- 1 bunch multi-colored carrots with tops
- onion
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 tbs. olive oil
- 1/2 tbs. italian seasoning
- 1/2 tbs. turmeric powder
- 1/2 cup red lentils (optional, leave out for lower-carb version)
- 3 celery stalks
- several cloves of garlic
- fresh herbs, I used holy basil leaves
- moringa leaves
- cayenne pepper, to taste
- sea salt or Himalayan salt, to taste
- water, to cover
- 1 cup cooked quinoa


Directions:


Remove carrot tops and peel carrots.

 Chop onion and stir-fry in olive oil with bay leaves.

Add lentils and other (dry) herbs.

Add several cups water, and bring to a simmer...

Chop carrots and celery and add to soup, let cook several minutes.

Chop (washed) carrot top greens and add to soup.

Lastly, add moringa, holy basil leaves, and quinoa.

Salt to taste...

... and enjoy!

Baked Almond Flour Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 egg, whisked
- 3/4 cup ground almonds
- spices of choice (I used italian seasoning, turmeric, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, salt), to taste


Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Using kitchen scissors, cut up chicken into evenly sized pieces and place in a separate bowl.  Whisk the egg in another bowl, and mix the ground almonds with the spices on a large plate. 

Dip the chicken, one piece at a time, in the egg, then roll in the almond mixture, coating completely with the almond flour.  Place chicken in a greased oven dish, leaving spaces between each piece.

Place in oven and bake for approximately 17 minutes.  Serve with a side of veggies and enjoy (these are so yummy!)!!

Cacao Nib Blondies (Delicious and Nutritious!)

Ingredients:

⅓ sesame oil
1 can navy beans
stevia powder, amount varies depending upon what type/brand you use and your preferred taste.  I used approximately ½-1 tsp Kal stevia powder.
2 eggs
1 cup cooked quinoa
¼ cup ground almonds and 1/2 cup maca powder (or 1/2 cup ground almonds)
2-3 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp baking powder
⅓ cup cacao nibs
½ cup nuts of choice (I used walnuts)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil an 8x8 inch pan.

Put all ingredients, besides cacao nibs and nuts, in a food processor and process until smooth.

Stop processor, then add cacao nibs and mix in with a spoon.  Pour into pan and smooth out with a spatula.  Evenly distribute nuts (I broke the walnuts into smaller pieces first) evenly across top and press into batter.  

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Allow to cool, cut to desired size and enjoy!

 

This recipe was inspired by this recipe:  http://recipes.steviva.com/recipe/gluten-free-brownies-no-added-sugar-low-glycemic
...

Easy Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I know roasting is not the most nutritious way to prepare veggies, but WOW how delicious roasted brussel sprout are!  You will need...

Ingredients:
- as many brussel sprouts as you'd like
- olive oil
- sea salt or Himalayan
- paprika & cayenne pepper

Directions:
Begin by washing the sprouts.  I like to soak my veggies in a large bowl of water and about 1/4-1/2 cup white vinegar for a few minutes, then rinse twice with fresh water, drain off all water.  After washing, cut the very base of each sprout off with a paring knife and leave on a towel to absorb some of the water (you don't want the water with them for roasting!).

Next, place them in a bowl and drizzle olive oil over them.  Add salt and spices to taste.  Using a spoon, stir to coat evenly.

Place in a pan intended for oven-use, making sure the sprouts are not too crowded or stacked (you want to roast them, not seam them, so spread them out). 

Place the sprouts in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Colorful Summer Salad Slaw

Whether you like eating the slaw alone or on a salad or other meal topper, this fast and easy prep will cure your crave for crunch for several days.  There is endless versatility with what veggies you use and what is used to flavor it with.  I would plan to make a batch that will last no more than about 3-4 days, as it's best to eat fresh.   For this batch I used:

Ingredients:
- 1 head red cabbage
- 1 small/medium onion
- several fresh beets
- approximately 1 lb. carrots
- fresh herbs from garden or use dry herbs
- pinch of salt
- cayenne pepper
- juice of one lemon
- olive oil (or other) added before eating, optional

Directions:
- First, wash cabbage, peel onion, beets and carrots.  If needed, chop veggies to a size that will allow them to fit through the food processor with a shredding attachment.  I use a Cuisinart processor.  If you do not have a food processor, shredding by hand will also work, but it will require more patience.

Shred all veggies.  Add herbs of your choice.  I used what fresh ones I have growing now: holy basil, rosemary and mint.  Wash, pull off leaves and finely chop.  Alternatively, add dry herbs.  Add to shredded veggie mix.  Add salt, pepper, and lemon, then thoroughly mix ingredients using a large spoon.

Before eating, add olive oil (or other oil of choice: avocado, hemp, flax, etc...).  It is great alone.  I love to add it to to a salad:

Or, even more, along with other things to complete the salad (here, I've added avocado and quinoa...):

Store rest of slaw in airtight containers in fridge.  Variations for this recipe are endless... have fun, experiment and... ENJOY!