Category: Recipes Page 20 of 24

Chunky Monkey Peanut Butter Chocolate Milkshake (Dairy-Free)

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On July 15, 2014

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, My Story, Paleo, Products I Use, Recipes, Vegan

If you…

Are a chocohalic craving healthier sweet treats.

Love the taste of peanut butter and chocolate, especially in cool, creamy desserts.

Don’t want to deal with the bloating and tummy ache that usually follows a thick, dairy-based milkshake…

Then you have to try this chunky monkey peanut butter chocolate milkshake!

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Peanut butter + chocolate is one of my absolute favorite food combinations, and they come together wonderfully in this recipe.

I was inspired by a recipe I found on The Detoxinista’s website for a Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake and put my own spin on it to come up with what is now one of my favorite smoothie shakes.

I subbed in raw cacao powder for the cocoa powder. Raw cacao powder is loaded with disease-fighting, anti-aging antioxidants along with tons of other vitamins and minerals.

Because it’s not heat-treated like traditional cocoa powder, cacao powder has more nutrients intact. It’s our go-to add-in to give smoothies, shakes and desserts a chocolatety taste. This is where we buy cacao powder, but you can find it at any health food store, Wegmans, and even at Home Goods.

This smoothie shake tastes so creamy, rich and decadent that you won’t believe it’s healthy. Like all of my recipes, it’s dairy-free, so it’s easier on your stomach and digestion than milk/yogurt/ice cream-based shakes.

Goodbye, tummyache…hello, tasty shake! 🙂

Chunky Monkey Peanut Butter Chocolate Milkshake (Dairy-Free)

Peanut butter chocolatey goodness!

Peanut butter chocolatey goodness!

Servings: 2 (cut recipe in half for a single serving)

Ingredients* (see notes below)

  • 1 1/2 cups almond milk, homemade or store-bought
  • 2 frozen bananas (Make sure you peel them before freezing them. We keep a stash in our freezer)
  • 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed/flax meal
  • 3-4 tablespoons natural peanut butter
  • 3 large Medjool dates, pitted
  • 1-2 handfuls baby spinach (you won’t taste it, I promise!)
  • Optional: 1 tablespoon raw cacao nibs

Directions

  1. Put all ingredients in a blender for 30-60 seconds, starting with the liquid first.
  2. Sprinkle some raw cacao nibs on top for a little extra crunch!

A few notes about the ingredients:

  1. We buy Silk Vanilla Unsweetened almond milk when we don’t make it ourselves. Making it is surprisingly easy though!
  2. The fiber and omega-3 fats from the flaxseed help to fill you up and give your body a dose of brain and heart healthy fats.
  3. When we buy peanut butter, we buy brands that have no added sugars, oils or salt. Ideally, the only ingredient on the ingredient list will be “peanuts.”
  4. If your dates are hard, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes to soften them up before blending. It will make it easier.

Zucchini Basil Pesto Sauce (Watch Me Make It!)

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On July 13, 2014

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, Paleo, Recipes, Tips & Tricks, Vegan

I LOVE pesto. It’s my favorite Italian sauce for pasta, veggies, and even chicken.

Anything with basil and garlic in it is bound to taste good, right?

Most pesto sauce recipes are loaded with oil, cheese, and pine nuts, all of which can be clogging to our bodies if eaten in excess. I’m a huge fan of pine nuts and love the way they taste, but there are one of the most expensive nuts you can buy, so I wanted to share a recipe that uses walnuts instead.

This recipe also includes a “surprise” ingredient that you’ve probably never seen in pesto…zucchini!

Zucchini adds creaminess to the sauce and boosts its nutrient content.

I like serving pesto over top of zucchini pesto noodles AKA “zoodles.” (click the link for a “how to” demo!).

Oil-Free Zucchini Basil Pesto Sauce

The completed pesto sauce!

Ingredients

1 cup diced zucchini (no need to peel it!)
1 handful fresh basil leaves (about 3/4 oz.)
2 garlic cloves (the recipe called for 4 cloves, but I found that to be wayyy too much, so I would use 2)
½ cup raw walnuts
3 tablespoons water (the recipe calls for a 1/4 cup, but I found that slightly less – 3 T works best)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

*I also added in about 2-3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast to give it a little more of a “cheezy” flavor, but you can taste test it yourself and decide whether or not you want to add that in!

Click here for the super simple directions from one of my favorite bloggers and fellow health coaches, The Detoxinista. You can also watch my How To video below!

http://youtu.be/QgHpa5nIcPA

The Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookies You'll Ever Make (Gluten-Free, Too!)

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On July 11, 2014

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Products I Use, Recipes

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Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies?

I have lots of memories baking with my mom as a kid and eating gobs of Nestle Tollhouse cookie dough by the spoonful with my brother.

When I found today’s recipe and saw how simple it was (and how basic the ingredients were!), I had to give it a try. I welcomed the addition of peanut butter into the mix because peanut butter makes just about everything taste even better 🙂

The dough is free of refined white sugar, the usual 2 sticks of butter, and white flour in a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe, but make no mistake, even without those ingredients, these cookies are DELICIOUS, and I bet you already have ALL of the ingredients in your pantry!

I gave a fresh just-out-of-the-oven cookie to Bill, and he took one bite, gave me a look that said “holy cow these are awesome” and then proceeded to finish off the rest of cookie in a single bite! We will be making these simple cookies again and again, and I guarantee you (and your kids) will love them.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Servings: Our batch made about 18 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter, unsalted (preferably organic)
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup (we used honey)
1 whole egg, or a flax egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 tsp vanilla extract* (I added this ingredient to the original recipe)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (We use Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels since they are free of dairy, gluten, and soy and contain only 2 ingredients)

*As you’ll see where I starred above, I added about 3/4 tsp of vanilla extract (what cookie is complete without vanilla?!), and I think that helped to further enhance the flavor. Click here for the full recipe from The Detoxinista!

Healthy Snack Alert! 5-Ingredient No-Bake Fig Newton Bites

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On July 10, 2014

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan

My hubby loves Fig Newtons.

His claim to fame? He can eat them by the sleeve. Quite a feat!

After checking out the ingredient list on a package of Fig Newtons, including the whole grain ones we used to buy, I decided I wanted to find a healthier way to create a similar taste and texture but without all of the processed ingredients in the traditional fig cookies.

We make it a priority to nourish ourselves with high quality, wholesome food because we want to be around for each other in as optimal health as possible for a long time 🙂

How do I decide whether or not something is a nourishing food choice? I’ve found it helpful to follow some of Michael Pollan’s food rules:

  1. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
  2. Avoid food products that contain more than 5 ingredients.
  3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in a pantry.

I love the simplicity and directness of his common sense approach to eating! 

The core ingredients in this Fig Newton bites

The core ingredients in these Fig Newton bites

Now, back to the bites!

These Fig Newton Bites are awesome for a few reasons:

  • Only 5 ingredients
  • No baking required
  • They taste like the filling of a Fig Newton!

You could easily whip up this simple recipe with your kids in a matter of minutes. The combination of protein, fiber, healthy fats and a touch of salt makes these a great choice for a filling and healthy snack.

My husband, Bill, has been bringing the bites with him as a snack to the summer camp where he works as a counselor. In fact, the other day he gave one to another counselor, who responded by saying he was surprised by how good they tasted…and has asked for more each day Bill brings them!

5-Ingredient No-Bake Fig Newton Bites

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Ingredients

  • 3 cups dried figs (remove the hard stems)
  • 1 cup walnuts halves
  • ¼ cup flaxseed meal*
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt

You can find flaxseed meal in the gluten free aisle of any grocery store, online, or at Home Goods!

Click here for the full recipe from another blogger, The Lemon Bowl.

Tart & Tangy Raspberry Lime Popsicles

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On July 6, 2014

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, My Story, Paleo, Products I Use, Recipes

Growing up, I was always jealous of the kids who went to the beach for vacation.

Despite the fact that I’ve lived in Baltimore my whole life, the first time I ever went to Ocean City, Maryland in the summer was for “Senior Week” after graduating from high school.

When I was a kid, I went on vacation with my family to the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, where my mom spent her summers as a kid.

As an adult, I truly appreciate the Adirondacks and still spend a week of every summer up there with my husband and family. I now look forward to the beauty, solitude and slower pace of mountain life.

A beautiful view from an Adirondack mountaintop

A beautiful view from an Adirondack mountaintop

But when I was a kid, the mountains weren’t exactly “the place to be” in the summer.

It wasn’t cool to have to drive 8+ hours to get to our vacation spot when all of our friends and classmates had a 3 hour drive to the beach. As a 14-year-old, spending 1-2 weeks in a cabin in the woods with no friends wasn’t as appealing as walking around on the boardwalk, playing in the ocean and sand, or laying out on a towel at the beach.

Though I didn’t always appreciate the awesomeness of the mountains as a kid, there’s one thing I always loved about being “Up North.”

Wild raspberries.

Can't get enough of these berries!

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved raspberries.

To this day, I still can’t find anything that matches the taste of freshly picked wild raspberries from bushes lining the mountain roads. Maybe it’s the clean, crisp, cool mountain air. Whatever it is, I can’t get enough of them.

For today’s super simple, kid-friendly recipe, I used black raspberries, but feel free to use red raspberries instead! Either one will work.

Black raspberries give these popsicles their bright pink color. So pretty!

Black raspberries give these popsicles their bright pink color. So pretty!

Berries are one of the anti-cancer, anti-fat storage GBOMBS foods. They are also lower in sugar than almost any fruit, especially raspberries, which contain a mere 5 grams of naturally occurring sugar in a one cup serving.

Raspberries are high in filling fiber and are supercharged with disease-fighting, anti-aging antioxidants. Click here to read even more about the amazing health benefits of raspberries!

The pairing of

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups fresh raspberries (I used black raspberries for this recipe, but you could use either kind or combine them!)
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • Juice of one lime
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey (I used raw honey when I made them but plan to try the maple syrup option next time!) 

Directions

  1. Put all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze until solid.
  3. Gently remove the popsicles from the mold by running the mold under warm water until the popsicle pops out.
  4. Enjoy!

tart raspberries with tangy lime juice and creamy coconut milk makes for a refreshing sweet treat that you and your kids will love!

As always, these popsicles are dairy-free, so everyone can enjoy them. 🙂

Tart & Tangy Black Raspberry & Lime Popsicles

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Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups fresh raspberries (I used black raspberries for this recipe, but you could use either kind or combine them!)
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • Juice of one lime
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey (I used raw honey when I made them but plan to try the maple syrup option next time!) 

Directions

  1. Put all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze until solid.
  3. Gently remove the popsicles from the mold by running the mold under warm water until the popsicle pops out.
  4. Enjoy!

Peachy Keen Kale Salad

By

On July 3, 2014

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, Paleo, Recipes, Tips & Tricks

It’s no secret that I like kale.

I’m surprised I haven’t bought one of those “Eat More Kale” shirts yet! (birthday hint??)

A beautiful bunch of curly kale

A beautiful bunch of curly kale

It can get boring to eat kale the same way all the time (juice from 2 lemons + 1-2 T olive oil + a few hefty shakes of nooch + a sprinkle of sea salt + black pepper massaged into the kale leaves), so I like to change it up throughout the year and try new recipes to keep things exciting.

I’ve shared my absolute favorite kale salad recipe before along with one for an upgraded kale Waldorf salad, but the salad I made this week has quickly become a new favorite!

(Check out the video below to see how you can quickly and easily “destem” kale as you prep this salad 🙂 I’ve been working on doing some videos for Hometown Harvest, which is the company Bill and I use for our fruits, veggies, eggs, meats and some other pantry items. I also write for their blog. If you don’t live in the Baltimore/DC metro area, check out LocalHarvest to find a farmer’s market, CSA or farm near you!)

http://youtu.be/gyDXwjGc_7o

This salad is SO easy to make and gave me an excuse to use the sweet, juicy and flavor-filled peaches that are in season right now on the East Coast.

The basic ingredients are kale, peaches, and red onions. Easy, right? The dressing isn’t much than that – a peach, olive oil, water and apple cider vinegar (whose health benefits I’ve raved about before in this post!).

Make sure you let the kale sit for at least 30 minutes to soak in all the flavors. We stored ours in the fridge overnight, and the flavors came together beautifully for dinner the next day.

I plan to bring this salad along with a watermelon mojito salad to the 4th of July party we’re going to on Friday. You have to try it for yourself – it’s so yummy and will be a hit if you bring it to a summer party or cookout!

Peachy Keen Kale Salad

This beautiful peachy kale salad will be a hit at your dinner table or a potluck!

A perfectly peachy salad ready to be enjoyed! You won’t even need dessert after having this treat 🙂

Ingredients

2 bunches curly kale, stems removed
1/2 red onion, diced
1 ripe peach, pitted and chopped

Peach Vinaigrette:

1 ripe peach, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon honey (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Click here for the recipe from The Detoxinista!

Beautifying Detox Salad {Vegetarian}

By

On June 30, 2014

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan

As the weather warms up, I’m always looking for new ideas for light, refreshing, and detoxifying dishes.

Anything from the cabbage family (like the bok choy and red cabbage in this recipe) is cleansing to the body, which is what we want after our winter hibernation! It’s also a cancer-fighting superstar (AKA a GBOMBS food).

Beautiful, crisp, detoxifying bok choy. A true beauty food!

Beautiful, crisp, detoxifying bok choy. A true beauty food!

GBOMBS are a group of the most nutrient-dense, disease-fighting, health-promoting foods in the world, foods we should eat a lot of on a daily basis. Check out this post for the full details on GBOMBS and how you can benefit from eating them!

In her book, The  Beauty Detox Foods, nutritionist Kimberly Snyder points out tons of other health and beauty benefits of eating cabbage (bok choy and red cabbage both count!):

  • Anti-aging/great for your skin because it contains vitamins A, C and E
  • Helps to detoxify or purify the blood (which also contributes to clearer skin and reduced inflammation)
  • High in fiber so it “keeps things moving” 🙂
  • Good for the thyroid and other endocrine glands because of its iodine content

Click here to read about even more of the amazing healthy benefits of bok choy in particular.

Now that you’re sold on WHY eating these foods is a good idea, here’s a recipe to try that shows you HOW to use them!

Beauty Detox Bok Choy Salad

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Salad Ingredients

  • 2 heads of bok choy, chopped into ½” pieces
  • 3 cups of thin-sliced red cabbage (we run ours through the food processor to shred it quickly and easily)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Dressing

  • 6 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ⅔ cup white wine vinegar (I used Bragg’s raw apple cider vinegar, since I didn’t have white wine vinegar)
  • 1/4 cup honey (I use raw honey, but use what you have! If you’re vegan, sub in maple syrup instead)
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup tamari (Wheat-free soy sauce available in the Asian aisle of your grocery store. Use whatever soy sauce you have on hand if you don’t have tamari!)

Click here for the full recipe!

The Ultimate Pumpkin Pie Smoothie {Dairy-Free, Paleo, Vegan}

By

On June 28, 2014

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Paleo, Recipes, Savor, Vegan

How do you know when you’ve come up with a good recipe?

When you find yourself scraping every last bit out of the blender and your glass with a spatula, so nothing goes to waste!

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That’s what happened the other day when I made this pumpkin pie smoothie.

I originally made this recipe back in June but have since tweaked it. I’m up for enjoying pumpkin any time of the year because I LOVE pumpkin!

This smoothie/shake tastes more like a decadent pumpkin pie dessert than a breakfast or snack. I could literally drink this every day!

If you like pumpkin, you have to try this recipe 🙂

If you don’t want to use the spices outlined below, just use 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice from a jar that already has everything blended.

pumpkin pie smoothie

The Ultimate Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

If you’re in the mood for a seasonal smoothie full of fall spices, try this one!

  • 1 frozen banana (peel before you freeze it!)
  • 3/4 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 Medjool date (pit removed)
  • 2 tablespoons hemp seeds (hulled)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/16 teaspoon ground cloves ((just a pinch!))
  • 1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg ((just a pinch!))

  1. Put all ingredients in a blender in the order listed above and blend for 30-60 seconds, adding optional ingredients if you want. Enjoy!

Optional add-ins

  • 1-2 handfuls of baby spinach* (it will change the color but up the nutrients!)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric for an anti-inflammatory boost
  • One scoop of protein powder (i.e., ideally, a sprouted version of hemp, pea or brown rice protein powder. I also like Vital Proteins collagen peptides, Sunwarrior, Vega, and Orgain Organics proteins. Find them on Amazon.)
  • Unsweetened, shredded coconut to sprinkle on top

*Notes

  1. Baby spinach has a very mild flavor. It will make your smoothie light green instead of orange but will also boost the nutrient content without affecting the flavor.
  2. You can buy organic, no-sugar pumpkin purée from a can at a health foods store or make it yourself following this process. Just make sure you are buying Pumpkin Puree and NOT canned pumpkin pie filling (they are different).
  3. If your dates aren’t soft, soak them in warm warm water for 20 minutes before blending, so they blend more easily.

“Upgraded” Kale Waldorf Salad

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On June 26, 2014

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan

I almost had the privilege of staying at the renowned Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City when I was a senior in high school.

Unfortunately, due to lots of picketing and some sort of boycott, my classmates and I had to change locations and stay at a different hotel during our senior class trip to the Big Apple. Oh well!

The salad I’m sharing today originated in the Waldorf Hotel in the late 1800s and is often a potluck favorite due to the combination of creamy dressing, crunchy celery and walnuts, and sweet, crisp apples.

A bunch of healthy ingredients go into this salad recipe

A bunch of healthy ingredients go into this salad recipe

One of the things I like to do when preparing meals is make some upgrades. “Upgrades” are little changes that basically boost the nutrient score of a particular food or dish. The more nutrients we get in our food, the more our bodies will thank us by staying well and feeling energized!

I made this salad, which puts a healthier spin on the class Waldorf Salad, for a friend’s baby shower last summer, and it was a big hit.

The sweetness comes from apples and raisins instead of the white sugar used in the traditional recipe, and the Dijon mustard, apples, and walnuts blend together to create a creamy dressing without using mayo.

The main “upgrade” to this recipe is the addition of dino kale (a superstar vegetable!). This is a great way to introduce friends and family to kale. It has lots of different textures and great flavor. Bring it to your next potluck!

“Upgraded” Kale Waldorf Salad 

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Ingredients

  • 4 cups packed finely chopped raw kale, preferably dinosaur kale
  • 1 large red apple, such as Fuji or Honeycrisp, chopped, divided
  • 1 cup thinly sliced celery
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped, divided
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons raisins, divided
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons water, more if needed
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • Optional: 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

The dressing will be pretty thick, but I just massage it into the kale. If you find that you need more than 2 tablespoons of water to thin it out, feel free to add in one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice instead of adding more water.

Click here for the full recipe from Whole Foods Market Recipes (one of my favorite recipe apps!).

Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes with Creamy Cashew Frosting

By

On June 23, 2014

In Clean Eating, Recipes

Last week, we got a big container of strawberries in our weekly produce delivery and wanted to find a creative way to use them.

Strawberry season isn’t very long, so I try to take advantage of the fresh, local strawberries while I can.

Sooo, why not make some cupcakes?!

It's strawberry season! Who wants a cupcake? :)

Strawberries and lemon pair well together in this recipe.

I was also intrigued by the creamy cashew icing, since I’ve used cashews in the past as a substitute in a lot of dairy-free recipes from paleo parmesan cheeze and nacho cheeze sauce to sour cream and caramel apple dip. Cashews are versatile and help create a creamy consistency.

I could have eaten the icing by the spoon on its own, but I did leave enough to fully ice all of the cupcakes.

These cupcakes are gluten-free yet they stay super moist, unlike most gluten-free baking recipes, so I was really happy with the outcome.

The recipe calls for coconut flour, which you can find online at Amazon or Vitacoast and at health food stores like Whole Foods, MOMs, and Wegmans, but I’ve also found it at Home Goods and Trader Joe’s JUST started selling it (for like $2.99/bag!). Since it’s becoming more popular, there’s a good chance your local grocery store will carry it in the gluten-free aisle.

The recipes for both the cupcakes and the icing are included below 🙂 I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes with Creamy Cashew Icing

These taste as good as they look!

It’s strawberry season! Who wants a cupcake? 🙂

Strawberry Lemon Cupcake Ingredients (Gluten-Free)

Makes 8 cupcakes

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup finely chopped strawberries

Click here for the cupcake recipe from a fellow health coach, The Detoxinista!

Cashew cream frosting - SO creamy and delicious!

Cashew cream frosting – SO creamy and delicious!

Creamy Cashew Icing Ingredients (Dairy-Free)

Makes 1 1/4 cups

3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked 2-3 hours and rinsed
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
3 tablespoons raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Click here for the cashew cream icing recipe.

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