A change in format and....FALAFEL BITES!

Okay, so after some long reflection (okay, maybe only 5 mins)...I decided, unapologetically-on-my-own-with-no-regrets, that I should change the format of posting about my cleanse! I know very big decision that I'm glad I reflected so long about :) 

I am going to post new recipes that haven't been on my site so that I am not repeating the same thing OVER...and OVER....and OVER!  Because let's be honest, we repeatedly eat the same things we like..right? Or maybe that's just me.  Oh well, I hope you like this better.

Today I made these....delicious....unbelievably gluten free...delectable...falafel bites! I love falafels (or any mediterranean food really :)!)

Falafel Bites 

adapted from Tasty-Yummies

These falafels were delicious and perfect for my cleanse! They're especially fantastic dipped in all natural hummus (I get Cava from Whole Foods).

Ingredients

1 15 oz can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained)

1/2 medium onion chopped

1/4 cup of parsley

1 tsp of dried basil

1 tsp of dried oregano

1-2 tsp of minced garlic

1/2 lemon juiced

a pinch of sea salt

a little bit of pepper

1/4 cup of almond flour

3/4 tsp of baking soda

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients, EXCEPT the flour and baking soda, in a food processor and make the ingredients CHOPPED, not into a paste.
2. Add the flour and baking soda and mix together until more of a paste that you can form into a ball.
3. Form into a large ball and cover.  Put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes at least, up to an hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Put a silicone mat or parchment paper onto a baking sheet. 
6. Make 1-2 inch diameter balls of the chickpea mixture and place them on the baking sheet.  
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
8. Then put on a salad or dip into hummus and enjoy!

Day 3 Cleanse

Day 3!

Can't believe it's been three days! I ate an AMAZING filet mignon for dinner last night at Clyde's.  In looking at the menu I realized that it is super difficult to continue on this cleanse.  I basically pretended that I would die if I ate any gluten, soy, or lactose...  They said that almost ALL of their food is cooked in a soy-based oil, so they made me a "special" filet that wasn't cooked in any of these things. I mean who knows what they cooked it in.  It probably was cooked in a ton of butter and I probably ruined my cleanse.  But, since I made it seem a VERY big deal that I not have dairy or soy, hopefully they honored it! If not....WOOPS.  

We also saw Les Miserables in theaters, which was great, but LONG.  You really have to be in it for the long haul! I think it was the singing that made it longer. If you're going to make a play into a movie then you should have some sort of intermission! I had to pee so badly, but it was so packed in the theater I just sucked it up.  But seriously I thought my back and legs were going to cramp.  Man, three hours was just a WEE bit too long.  I would have been okay with 2 and 1/2 but those extra 30 mins really did me in!

Okay back to the recipes....

For breakfast I had an egg with muesli and almond milk.

Delicious! Here is the recipe for the muesli:

Muesli:

I make a TON of this and put it into a large air-tight container. Keeps for a while!

Ingredients:

• Gluten free oats (I used a whole bag)
• 1 cup of raisins (or any other dried fruit you like)
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2-3 tsp of cinnamon (depending on how much you like)

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in an airtight container and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE!
2. Add your favorite type of milk to about 1/2 cup-1 cup of the mix! I used almond milk and it was fantastic.
3. Optional: I added some fresh blueberries to it, which made it delectable!

WORKOUT!

Had a great workout session...Check it out:

Elliptical: (Interval workout level 8)

• 4 minute warm up
• 1 minute going the fastest I could
• 2 minutes cool down
• repeat for 7 times
• 5 minute cool down

Daily Burn Workout

I pay for the Daily Burn for $10 a month and get workouts.  The workout I did today was called "Powerball Strength". You did four different circuits of repeating 2 moves for 30 sec each 3x.  Here is a sneak peak of some of the moves:

• Ball tuck (in a plank position on the ball, with the ball under your shins, and you pull your butt up without bending your legs--so you look like an upside-down V--if this is too hard, you can bring your knees into a tuck instead)
• Mountain Climbers
• Patty cake plank (In plank position pretend your playing patty cake by lifting one arm out at a time)
• Push up on ball (With shins on the ball in push up position, complete regular push ups, if this is too hard, go down to the ground on your feet or knees)
• Side squat with ball raise (hold the ball in your hands with arms out in front of you with feet together, squat to the left side and at the same time lift arms over head, then go back to starting position and then repeat to the right side)
• Chest press on the ball
• Alternating lunge with ball (Start with ball over your head and feet together.  Then, lunge forward with your right food while you bring the ball to the outside of your right foot, return to starting position.  Repeat on the left side)
• Washing machine (hold arms out with ball in hand with feet hips distance apart.  Shake arms back and forth without moving your hips or legs).  

Lunch:

For lunch, I had a kale salad with avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes and cooked quinoa.  Then, I tried to eat some of the leftovers from yesterday (cauliflower, butternut squash, and chickpea coconut curry), but I was super full so only had a few bites.

Here's the picture:

If you want the recipe for the salad:

Ingredients:
Serves 1

• 1 cup of kale
• 1/2 avocado
• 4 grape tomatoes
• 1/3 cucumber
• 1/4 cup of red onion
• 2 tbsp of cranberries (no added sugar)
• 1 tbsp of sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup of cooked quinoa (cooled if possible)
• 1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice (I used half a lemon)
• drizzle of olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:
Add all the ingredients up to the quinoa in a bowl. Mix around well and add lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  (Optional: I added a bit of my vinaigrette from Day 1 of the cleanse.  Tasted great!)

Snack:

Trail Mix:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of your favorite nuts (I used almonds, pecans, and walnuts--roasted but not salted)
• 1/4 cup of your favorite dried fruit (I used dried apricots, raisins, and blueberries)
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 drop of vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix it all together in a bowl and bring it with you to the movies! Like I did :)

Dinner:

Filet Mignon at Clydes with potatoes and veggies!

Fabulous! Except, the potatoes weren't that tasty...but added some pepper which made it better :) It always does!

Cleanse Day 2

Cleanse Day 2!

So today begins the second day of my cleanse :) Yay! It feels like it's been a week, but it's only been a day so far (wah wah wah....)  I've been feeling pretty good! I have lots of energy, but I did have a headache yesterday and last night I was pretty hungry before going to bed.  But, all in all, I've really been enjoying this so far!

Today I started out with a MUCH better breakfast smoothie.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of kale
• 1 apple
• 1/2 cup of berries
• 1 tbsp of grated ginger
• 1 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)
• 1 tbsp of chia seeds

Directions:
Put all the ingredients in a blender and liquify! Then enjoy :) 

After enjoying my smoothie, I took the metro and a long walk (well pretty quick walk since I was running late--a lot farther than I thought!) to go to my barre class.  YES, that is how it is spelled.  If you live in DC, I HIGHLY recommend checking out BFitDC.  It is an amazing studio with fantastic teachers of the barre method.  I definitely notice my legs, hips, butt and arms working and it is relaxing and energizing all at the same time.  It's a nice break from running and doing more intense cardio and a great break after work!

Then, I came home and made a DELICIOUS and very filling lunch.  (Wow, I use a lot of CAPS and parentheses...sorry if that's annoying!)  Anyways, check it out below:

Butternut Squash Soup and Chicken Salad with Avocado and Vinaigrette  dressing.

Most of these recipes came from this blog....which was probably adapted from another blog :). So check it out below!

• Butternut Squash Soup
• Almond Baked Chicken (except this one was from another blog)
• Vinaigrette Dressing (Scroll down)

Besides the almond baked chicken, I put these in the salad, as well: 

• 1/2 avocado
• 1 tbsp of sliced almonds
• 1 tbsp of dried cranberries
• 1/4 cucumber
• 1/4 of a red pepper
• organic mesclun lettuce
• organic arugula

Now seriously, this was SUPER filling.  I almost couldn't finish it.  Maybe it was the avocado, or the chicken, or the soup or the combination of the two...but this is a definitely for someone who is hungry after a great work out :) 

Snacks:

• Some more fruit and nut bites
• Some roasted and salted almonds :)

Dinner

For dinner I whipped up some cauliflower, butternut squash, and chickpea coconut curry!  I had some leftover butternut squash from the soup I made a few days ago and didn't want any vegetables to go to waste! 

Check out the recipe:

Cauliflower, butternut squash, and chickpea coconut curry

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of cauliflower
• 0.5 lb of butternut squash (this is how much I had as leftovers, but use as much as you want!)
• 1 15oz can of organic chickpeas
• 1 yellow onion (feel free to use less, I just love onions!)
• 1 13.5 oz can of light coconut milk
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp of coconut oil
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1-2 tsp of curry powder (I used 2 because I LOOOVE curry)
• 1 tsp of thyme
• 1 tsp of minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut cauliflower and butternut squash up into bite sized pieces.
• Put cauliflower and butternut squash in a medium bowl and drizzle with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and top with salt and pepper (as much as you like).  Then mix around.  

• Place cauliflower and butternut squash on a baking sheet and roast vegetables in oven for 25-35 minutes (until lightly golden and easy to put a fork through the vegetables).
• While cauliflower and butternut squash is cooking, chop up some onions.  Grease a saucepan with coconut oil.  Put the onions in the saucepan and sauté on medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
• Rinse chickpeas and let strain.
• Add spices to onions and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add chickpeas to saucepan and let cook for 5-8 minutes at medium to low heat (until cauliflower and butternut squash are done).

                                                         

• Add cauliflower and butternut squash to saucepan.  Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
• Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Then let cook for 5 minutes.
• Then enjoy!  This is great as a side with the almond chicken (like I have shown below).  Or, it is a great as a stew over quinoa!

                                            

After this delicious dinner, I SERIOUSLY had a tough time not cheating.  I don't know why, but I was pretty hungry.  Looking back, maybe I should have added a salad or something.  Let's just say that 2 Christmas Cheesy Hallmark Movies saved the day by keeping my mind off of it! Thank GOD for Netflix! (PS I highly recommend Christmas Kiss.  

Christmas Lodge was cute but pretty terrible acting.  

I mean TERRIBLE lines as well.  But still cute!).   PHEW! It was a close one for cheating on this cleanse.  Well, hopefully tomorrow is a little bit easier :)

The Cleanse is Back!

Okay, I'm pretty embarrassed for how long it's taken me to post on the blog.  Let's just say that life has been crazy at work, home, and everywhere, but I'm back in the game! And I'm going really big....CLEANSE TIME!

I'm sure everyone is in a similar boat where we ate way more than we wanted to during the holidays and feel (and probably are) about 5-10 pounds heavier.  I also just watched Hungry for Change a documentary about how the way we eat makes us sick and some of the foods we ate, especially sugar, are pretty much like a drug that makes us addicted! I knew about some of the things they talked about, but this really hit home.  

Well, I wanted to RECHARGE my body and start over! So, I'm going to be posting about some of the recipes I used on this cleanse and hopefully this will inspire others to join my 21 day cleansing challenge!  If I can get my husband in on this...you can do it too :) 

Day 1:

Breakfast:

Veggie Shake (to be honest, it's not one of my best, since I don't have our juicer we used to use...but not too shabby)

P.S sorry I don't have pictures for this...I realized later in the day that I would posting recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 bunches of kale chopped (or spinach--whatever tickles your fancy)
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)
• 1/2 cup of orange juice (fresh, not from the carton)
• 1 Fuji Apple (any type of sweet apple)
• 1/2 cup of berries
• 1/2 tsp of grated ginger
• 1 tbsp of chia seeds

Directions:

• Put the above ingredients in a blender in the order they appear in the list.
• ENJOY!

Lunch:

Butternut Squash Soup with Sage (from my site)

Almond Baked Chicken Salad (Chicken from Live2Eat).  See below.

BTW, this chicken was NOT very crispy if you follow the recipe from the site.  To make it crispy, I put the broiler on for the last 4-5 minutes of cooking.  Made a HUGE difference in the taste!

Ingredients:

• Almond Baked Chicken
• Organic Baby Romaine Lettuce
• Organic Arugula
• 1/4 cup of organic cucumber
• 1/4 cup of organic sweet red pepper
• 1/2 rip of celery
• 1 tbsp of dried cranberries (no added sugar)
• 1 tbsp of sliced almonds
• Gluten free diva's vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Vinaigrette
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (or vinegar of your choice)
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (I used 1/2 tbsp because I only had dried)
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill (I used 1/2 tbsp because I only had dried)
salt and pepper to taste



Snack

Fruit and Nut Bites 
(Disclaimer: I used half the amount of nuts because then it's actually possible to make into bite-sized balls.)

Dinner

Almond Chicken Bake (see above for link) and 
Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apples Recipe (adapted from OhMyVeggies.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of brussel sprouts (trimmed and halved)
• 1 apple (I used Fuij)
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup of cranberries
• 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 tbsp of maple syrup (optional--I didn't use it because of the cleanse and it still came out great!)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Toss brussels sprouts and apple slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until brussels sprouts are tender and browned on edges, stirring halfway through cooking time.
• Transfer brussels sprouts and apple to large bowl. Stir in cranberries, walnuts, and maple syrup (optional).

Best Pumpkin Muffins Ever!

I apologize for the delay in a post! To be truthful, Danny and I have not been as healthy as we would like to be and I took a little hiatus from baking.  Perhaps it's been looking for a house and stress at work that has kept me out of the kitchen and on the phone ordering Naked Pizza (yes that's the name).  

However, I am back to cooking and experimenting with various dishes.  In particular, I've been doing a little bit of experimentation with pumpkin bread/muffin/etc recipes and this is by far my favorite.  

I found the recipe and adapted it from this website: Hungry Healthy Girl (I'm trying to achieve one of these traits, but definitely am known for the former--let's just say this is one of my favorite quotes...see below)

Okay, enough talk...here are the muffins!  (Yes, there are two missing, because well...they just smelled too darn delicious!)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1/4 tsp of baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp of celtic sea salt
• 1/2 cup of pure all natural honey
• 1/3 cup of melted coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of canned organic pumpkin
• 1/4 cup of raisins

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with liners and set aside.
• Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Combine all wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
• Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Don’t overmix.
• Fold in raisins last.
• Scoop large spoonfuls of batter into muffin pan so it’s evenly distributed. 
• Bake for 20 minutes and until tops are golden brown.
• Store at room temperature for 2-3 days or refrigerate for a week or freeze for longer.

ENJOY! We did :)

Butternut squash, Sweet Potato, Kale and Quinoa Salad

Thank you to the Sweets Life for this amazing recipe!  I can't wait to eat this meal again! 

Ingredients:
-1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
-1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
-1/2 medium red onion, sliced
-1 tbsp olive oil
-salt and pepper, to taste
-3 cups kale
-5 tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
-1 cup uncooked quinoa
-2 cups water
-pinch of salt
-1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and red onion slices in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss vegetables before spreading on a large baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, until squash and potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally while baking.

2. Drizzle kale with 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Place on a separate baking sheet and after the squash has been in the oven for 15 minutes, add the pan with the kale. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until kale is wilted and a little bit crispy.

3. While vegetables are roasting, rinse the quinoa. Place rinsed quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups of water and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes before lowering heat and simmering for 15 minutes until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Set quinoa aside to cool to room temperature.

4. Allow roasted vegetables to cool to room temperature. Chop red onion slices and kale into small pieces. Toss quinoa, potatoes, squash, red onion, and kale in a large bowl. Drizzle with remaining 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and stir in the cranberries. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Gluten Free Zucchini Carrot Muffins

I've been going to farmer's markets most weeks to try and get some locally grown produce.

Well today I learned a few things:

• Most of the local markets are not organic and use pesticides (NOT cool).  But I got a list of the 3 or 4 that are organic. (Now I'm wondering...is organic from mexico better than local, but not organic? If you have any insight please comment and let me know!)
• The dirty dozen...Foods you NEED to get organic
• The verdict is STILL (ridiculous) not out about whether organic is better for you or not..(Hmm, let me think...chemicals in my food...or not? I'm going to go with not..)

Okay, so I digressed.  The point of talking about farmer's markets was that zucchini is EVERYWHERE at farmer's markets and so I bought some. I was deciding between zucchini bread and zucchini muffins, and decided to try the muffins--we're huge into it :) PLUS there's no eggs, no dairy, and a LOT less almond butter than the other paleo/gluten free muffins I've made.  So I feel like it's less fatty :)  I realized later (thanks to a commenter!) that this isn't paleo even though it's gluten free.  WOOPS! Sorry to those of you who have tried this and are strictly paleo.  I'll try to tweak the recipe and use something other than oats (maybe almond flour) to see how it tastes! 

And, by the way, my husband's EXACT words after eating it "Oh...my...gosh...these are the BEST muffins you've made yet!"  I've tried about 5 or 6 different muffin recipes and I do believe this is my favorite as well.... Just see for yourself how much he loved them! 

This was an adaptation from my one of my favorite blogs My Green Diet.

FYI: I originally was going to follow this recipe most of the way, but then I realized I wanted to make it more filling, so I added almond butter after Step 2.  That's why you won't see in the picture of ingredients below.

Servings: Makes 9 if you make "larger" muffins, and 12 if you make mini-muffins.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten free oat flour (can grind your own with gluten free oats)
• 1/4 cup almond flour (can substitute whole wheat flour for non-gluten-free)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 banana
• ½ cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup of almond butter
• 1 Tbs Coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup finely grated carrots (about 1 medium peeled carrot)
• 3/4 cup finely grated zucchini (about 1 medium unpeeled zucchini)

Directions:

For the muffins: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 mini-muffin cups with (1 1/2-inch) paper liners, if using. Spray with a nonstick spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

In a separate medium bowl, mash the banana very well. Mix in the applesauce, vanilla, honey, almond butter and oil. Add in the grated carrot and zucchini; mix.  

Add the dry ingredients, mix until just combined.

Using 2 small spoons or a small ice cream scoop, fill the prepared muffin cups 3/4 full (**if you want larger muffins like mine, fill most of the way up) with the batter and bake until light golden, about 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. 

Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Butternut Squash Soup!

This is one my favorite fall/winter soup recipes! It is savory, satisfying, and fills you with warmth!   I've come across MANY butternut squash recipes....parmesan...garlic...but I really loved this Sage Butternut Squash Soup that I tailored to my tastes from Epicurious' recipe.

The hardest part of this recipe is cutting up the butternut squash! Besides that, this is a very easy recipe that lasts me for the whole week! 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 cups chopped onions

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley*

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage*

1.5lbs or 4 cups of cubes peeled and seeded butternut squash

1 teaspoons celtic sea salt

1 garlic clove, minced

4 to 5 cups Organic Vegetable Stock

*I recently made this again and used 1/4 cup of sage and no parsley, and I actually enjoyed it more!

Take a look at a few of the ingredients below:

Directions:

Melt coconut oil in large pot over medium-high heat. 
Add onions, parsley, and sage; sauté until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. 

                         
Add squash and coarse salt; sauté until squash softens and onions are golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. 

Add 5 cups stock; bring to boil.
Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until squash is very soft, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly.
Use an immersion blender to liquify (or take apart in batches using a blender).

Then enjoy! :) Hope you love it as much as our family does! We love that everything is organic and/or local, fresh, vegan, and not processed.  We are really trying to stay away from eating a lot of meat, processed foods, and foods with sugar.  It's definitely the beginning of our journey!

My new exercise routine...

I'm not a person who loves running outside or using the elliptical.  I LOVE fitness classes, working out with other people, and playing tennis or some other outdoor activity with a friend.  I know it is important to work out, but I have been reading so much about whether it is important to work out twice week, three times or up to five times per week! It's very confusing!

My fitness goals currently are to tone up a bit and slim down.  To do this, I've gotten into this amazing class called "The Barre Class".  I do not attend "The Bar Method" in Washington, DC because I've heard its more like yoga then a real sweat dripping class (which is what I like).  However, there is a studio in DC called Bfitdc which is amazing! I definitely recommend this place and these types of classes if you like pilates, yoga or a fat-burning routine that focuses on leaning rather than building.

So, if you're into working out, but not going crazy, I definitely recommend you check it out! Here's the site: www.bfitdc.com

And in case you're wondering, here is a more detailed outline of my workout routine :)

• Day 1: Jillian Michaels Workout DVD (20-40 mins, depends on which DVD)
• Day 2: Rest
• Day 3: B Fit DC Barre Class
• Day 4: Run 2-3 miles
• Day 5: B Fit DC Barre Class
• Day 6: Rest
• Day 7: Workout DVD or Run 2-3 miles

Workout DVDs I like best:

• Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred
• Jillian Michales Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism
• Amy Dixon's Breathless (HOLY CRAP HARD!)
• On a side note, I'm thinking about trying "The Bar Method" DVD so I don't need to keep paying so much for the studio classes. If you've tried it, let me know! I'd love to hear about what people think :) 

Paleo Carrot and Raisin Muffins AMAZINGness

Oh my gosh, I would eat the batter if it didn't have raw eggs in it ..FABULOUS!!!!!

So I'll just be honest to say that I'm not into the whole paleo diet thing, I just like to cut how much gluten I eat because I just get more tired after eating it! However, I'm not into the whole EAT MEAT ALL DAY and all night thing.  I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives and I'm still feeling iffy on the whole meat idea.  I only eat it about 3-4 times a week because I just think we should be eating way more fruits and veggies.

But, I digress.  My friend told me about these fabulous paleo muffins, and I just HAD to give it a shot.  I mean look at all the pluses: 

• No added sugar
• No butter
• No gluten
• THERE'S VEGGIES
• THERE'S FRUIT
• And did I mention there are raisins in it? I just love raisins....

So, now that I've basically convinced everyone that they should try these muffins, I'll now share that I cannot take credit for them (Wah wah wah......) Instead, my friend shared them with me from a website! (But just think, I just made it so much easier for you to find delicious muffins, because I've already tried them!).

Okay, here's the recipe from Paleo Plan.

Oh and here's a picture :) 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbs cinnamon
• 1 cup dates, pitted (I used raisins)
• 3 ripe bananas
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 ½ cups carrots, shredded
• ¾ cup walnuts, finely chopped (instead, I used 3/4 cups of my favorite types of nuts--almonds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, and pistachios)
• muffin paper liners

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. In a small bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a food processor, combine dates, bananas, eggs, vinegar and oil.
4. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and blend until completely combined.
5. Fold in carrots and walnuts.
6. Spoon mixture into paper lined muffin tins.
7. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.

Curried Green Lentil Soup

This is adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day.  


Ingredients
2 tbsp of butter (or coconut oil-extra virgin)
1 large yellow onion (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 1/2 cups of green lentils (rinsed and drained)
5 cups of vegetable broth (or water)
1/2 c of  chopped scallions
1 tbsp of curry powder (can be put right into soup or used for curry powder butter sauce)
3 tbsp of butter (optional for curry powder butter sauce)

Directions:

1. Cook 2 tbsp of butter/coconut oil in a large stock pot on medium-high heat for 1 minute and add the chopped onion and garlic until onion is translucent (2-3 minutes)
2. Add vegetable broth and green lentils. Let this cook on low for 30-50 minutes until lentils are cooked entirely.
3. Puree soup with an immersion blender.
4. Add curry powder and mix together OR make the curry powder butter sauce
• Cook 3 tbsp of butter in a small skillet until browned and has nutty flavor then add curry and put half of it in the soup and mix together.  Then add curry butter mixture as a topping to each serving.
5. Add a bit to each serving of the soup as a topping.

Avocado Egg Salad

SO YUMMY! 

Do you love avocado? (YES!) Do you like egg salad but hate using mayonnaise? (YES!) Then this recipe is for you (as it was for me!) :)

I used this recipe from Happy Healthy Mama (great site!)

Serves: It says 3 on the website, but I definitely only got 2 servings out of it.

Ingredients:
1/2 a large avocado
3 hard-boiled eggs
1 teaspoon of country dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon of salt
(optional add in: celery, red pepper)

In a medium bowl, mash the avocado well.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Serve on your favorite bread, in a wrap, or on top of a bed of lettuce.