Sweet Potato, Power Greens, and Quinoa Burgers

I love everything about these burgers...I'll be eating them this week on whole wheat pita.



Ingredients :

• 3 Medium Sweet Potatoes
• 1 c. Power Greens (blend of baby spinach, baby kale, and chard)
• 1/4 c. Quinoa (uncooked, rinsed)
• 1/4 c. Almond Meal
• 1 tbsp. Coconut Oil
• 1 tbsp. Maple Syrup
• 2 tsp. Hot Sauce
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400. 
• Peel, slice, and boil sweet potatoes until soft.  Drain and let cool
• Put quinoa and 1/2 c. water in a small pot.  Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat, and simmer 15 minutes until all water is absorbed
• In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes and blend with chopped greens, quinoa, almond meal, hot sauce, and spices
• Pour the coconut oil and maple syrup over the mixture and stir until combined
• Form into 4-5 patties (depending on size) and place on lightly greased cookie sheet
• Bake 40 minutes, turning after 20 minutes

Dark Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

I love chocolate.  I reallllly love chocolate.  I seek out ways to consume it without going crazy with calories and sugar, and this recipe definitely hits the mark.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. Almond Milk (unsweetened)
• 2 tbsp. Chia Seeds
• 2 tsp. Stevia in the Raw
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Dark Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey Special Dark, unsweetened)
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Instructions:

• Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl
• Refrigerate 2-3 hours until the Chia Seeds have expanded and the mixture thickens

Clean, Paleo, Gluten-Free Thai Chicken Salad

I am eternally on a quest for clean, non-boring lunches.  I stumbled upon this recipe from the Food Network and changed it up a bit to suit my needs (and the ingredients I already had).  I can definitely see myself eating this all week long...either as a sandwich on some Ezekial Bread, or on top of a bed of spinach. 

I have recently discovered that I enjoy canned chicken breast...it's kind of like eating tuna, but higher in protein, lower in sodium, and definitely lacking mercury.  I made the dressing for this recipe and blended it with the veggies.  When I pack my lunches every night, I will use 1 can of chicken and stir in a serving of the dressing so that it's fresh every day!  The dressing makes 5 servings, so it's perfect for the week.

Dressing/Veggie Mixture Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb. Asparagus, ends removed, and cut into chunks
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
• 1/4 c. Coconut Oil (cold-pressed, extra virgin!)
• 1/8 c. Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp. Low Sodium Tamari Sauce (you can use soy sauce if you don't care about the gluten)
• 1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
• 1/4 tbsp. Honey
• 2 tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1/2 tsp. peeled, grated, Fresh Ginger
• 1/2 tbsp. Sesame Seeds
• 1/4 c. Natural Peanut Butter
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper

Instructions:

• Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain.
• Dice the peppers
• Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing
• Add the asparagus and peppers
• Portion out the dressing daily with your canned chicken and serve chilled

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Vegan Banana Bread...my first attempt at using Coconut Flour

A few of my friends have gone Paleo recently.  This means that their diets are grain-free and dairy-free and consist mostly of lean meats, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and nuts/seeds.  I think the concept of Paleo is really interesting, but I personally could not give up dairy, so I'll stick with clean eating ;).

However, as you all know, I enjoy a kitchen challenge, so I've been trying out some Paleo-friendly recipes (which are incidentally all gluten-free for the many people in my life who are oh-so-affectionately glu-tarded).

Banana bread is one of my favorite things to make, and making it Paleo wasn't entirely difficult, but it did require some research.  I decided to use Coconut Flour, which I've learned can't just be substituted for regular flour as it absorbs a ton more moisture. 

This bread came out decent, but there's room for improvement.  I can get past the slightly weird texture, but I can't help but notice that the coconut flour (or some sort of weird reaction between the ingredients) made this taste sort of salty...

Ingredients:

• 3 Ripe Bananas, mashed
• 1/3 c. Coconut Oil (cold pressed, extra virgin!)
• 6 Eggs (I never never never cook with whole eggs, but I'm embracing the Paleo here...)
• 2 tbsp. Honey
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 c. Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 1 tbsp. Cinnamon

Instructions:

 

• Combine bananas and melted coconut oil and mix well
• Add eggs, honey, and vanilla and whisk until combined
• In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients
• Add to wet ingredients
• Transfer to a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

 

Gluten Free, Paleo, Pumpkin Apple Bread

I've been wanting to try using almond flour for awhile to make my baked goods gluten free and paleo.  This bread seemed like the perfect way to do that, but when I went to the store to buy almond flour, I was astounded at how expensive it is.  I wound up buying a bulk amount of raw almonds and grinding them in my Magic Bullet to make my own flour, and the result was delicious!

• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup honey
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Gala apples, peeled and diced
• 5 cups almond flour (made in my Magic Bullet!)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray 2, 9x5 loaf pans with cooking spray
2. Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl, then add the apples
3. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients
4. Add the dry to the wet and mix until combined (it will be thick)
5. Pour/Scoop into loaf pans and bake for 30-40 minutes