Roasted Red Pepper Cauliflower Soup

THIS SOUP IS AMAZING!!!!!!

If you are looking for an absolutely delicious soup with rich flavours and a wee bit of heat look no further. We ate the entire batch in one sitting because it was so good!

Ingredients :

Olive oil
1 sweet red pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 head of cauliflower
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
4 cups chicken stock
1 yellow onion coarsely chopped
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp saffron threads (optional)
2 shell on shrimp or prawns
1 cup full fat coconut milk
16 medium sized peeled and cleaned shrimp.
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce or tobasco
Juice of 1/2 lime

Preheat oven to 450 F. Cut red pepper in half, discard stem and seeds and brush with olive oil. Place two cloves of peeled garlic in each half and put in baking pan. Core the cauliflower but leave head in tact. Brush with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder, place alongside red pepper in baking pan. Roast for 40 minutes until cauliflower is browned and peppers have some char on them. While roasting your veg get your stock ready. In a stock pot heat a table spoon of olive oil and sauté your onions. Add in curry and saffron and cook until spices get toasted and there are brown bits in your pot. Add in chicken stock and be sure to scrape up the toasty bits on the bottom of your pot. That is where the flavour is. I used unsalted stock so I put in a half tsp of salt and a quarter tsp of black pepper. I tossed in a couple of shell on shrimp for flavour. Discard them when you transfer broth to blender. Bring to a boil reduce to simmer and let cook with lid on until vegetables are done roasting. When vegetables are roasted throw them all in a blender, reserve a cup or so of bite sized cauliflower florets. Pour broth over top of vegetables and liquify. Add mixture back in pot. Add in coconut milk and hot pepper sauce. I use trinidadian hot pepper sauce, use as much or as little as you like. Always taste as you go. let simmer until broth is hot enough to cook your shrimp. Add in shrimp and cook until they are opaque. Don’t over cook them or they will not be tender like they should be. When shrimp are cooked through remove soup from heat and add in lime juice.

Paleo Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

After a long summer hiatus I am back with new recipes!   The weather is starting to feel cool here in Central Ontario and we are craving comfort food.  This recipe turned out to be super tasty and just right on a rainy Monday night.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1cup sliced button mushrooms
• Splash of red wine (optional)
• 1cup diced tomatoes 
• 1cup yellow zucchini
• 1lb of extra lean ground beef
• 2 gluten free hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 2 Tbsp of gluten free maple bacon BBQ sauce
• Salt and Pepper (to taste)
• 2 sweet potatoes cubed (about four cups)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk.
• Pinch of brown sugar and cinnamon

While prepping your vegetables put your sweet potatoes in pot, cover with water, salt the water (about a half tsp of sea salt) and bring to a boil. Let the potatoes simmer until fork tender and drain. In a large sauce pot heat olive oil on medium high heat. Once oil is heated but not smoking add garlic and mushrooms, sautée briefly and add in a splash of wine. Cook mushrooms for a couple minutes until the wine is cooked off. Add in the rest of your diced vegetables, ground beef and sausage. Stir until meat is cooked through.  Add BBQ sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.  Mash potatoes with almond milk and salt and pepper to taste.  In a square casserole dish layer meat filling and cover evenly with potatoes. Sprinkle a light dusting of brown sugar and cinnamon on top. Put under broiler until potatoes start to brown slightly. Tada! Dinner is ready!

 

 

 

Paleo Butter Chicken With Whole Roasted Cauliflower

This turned out really flavorful and certainly very filling!  We are big fans of Indian takeout, but on the Wahls Protocol eating out has proven treacherous.  I used the roasted cauliflower in place of Basmati rice and I really love the flavor the roasting added. It was also pretty quick to make.

Whole Roasted Cauliflower Directions: 
Before you start your Butter Chicken preheat oven to 400 F.  Brush whole head of cauliflower with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Put it in a baking pan and put it in the oven florets up. Leave there until main course is complete, it should look golden and speckled brown all over when you take it out.  Chop into bite size pieces and ladle Butter Chicken over the top.

Butter Chicken Ingredients:
2 TBSP virgin coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion finely diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
3/4 TBSP grated ginger 
1/2 TSP tumeric
1 TSP chili powder
1/4 TSP cinnamon
1/2 TSP salt
1/4 TSP black pepper
1/4 TSP cayenne pepper (if desired)
1 can of diced tomatoes undrained
2 TBSP tomato paste
6 cooked chicken thighs shredded ( feel free to use grocery store rotisserie chicken, you can also throw raw chicken thighs into your sauce to simmer, you will just have to cook it longer until the chicken is cooked through.)
1 can of full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of one lime to taste ( add as much or as little as you like). ALWAYS TASTE AS YOU GO!

Directions:
Melt coconut oil on medium high heat, saute onions and garlic until they start to soften.  Add ginger, tumeric, chili powder, cinnamon, salt pepper and cayenne.  This step is really important. You need to cook down the onions and roast your spices thoroughly.  This is how your curry becomes a curry.  5 minutes should get you where you need to be, but use your eyes, if there are brown crusty bits on the bottom of your pan and your onions are brownish in hue, you are good to go.  Here is a pic.

Add in your tomatoes and tomato paste. Give it a good stir and scrape all the spices up off your pan to incorporate into the sauce.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.  I like to blend my sauce with an immersion blender after simmering to make it smooth but it isn’t mandatory.

Add in chicken and coconut milk to sauce  cook for a couple of  minutes to reheat. Remove from heat, add in cilantro and lime juice. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Cabbage Soup

I had a giant cabbage sitting in my fridge and wanted to do something different with it.  I ended up with a tasty filling soup that was just perfect for this gloomy not so spring like weather we have been having.

6 strips nitrate free bacon chopped
1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups cubed sweet potato (about two medium)
2 cups water
2 cups coconut milk or one 15 oz can
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 cups chopped purple cabbage
2 TBSP of cider vinegar

In large pot saute bacon on medium high heat until cooked through. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened. Deglaze pot with wine, cook for a couple minutes so alcohol burns off.  Add sweet potatoes, water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer.  When sweet potatoes are fork tender puree mixture with immersion blender or transfer in batches to counter top blender. Add cabbage into soup and cook until tender.  Remove from heat and add in cider vinegar.  Add one TBSP and taste if you want more acid add second TBSP of cider vinegar.

Butterflied Broiler Chicken

This was an Alton Brown recipe I found.  It was absolutely delicious and the skin got perfectly crispy.  I changed up the technique a little because it needed more time to cook but I didn’t want the skin to burn.  I cooked it as per the instructions and then switched off the broiler and baked at 350 until the internal temp was what I wanted. The result was perfectly crisp skin and deliciously juicy meat!  I did not use the canola oil and I did not make the jus because I didn’t have any red wine on hand.  I imagine it would be pretty tasty.
Here is the recipe link http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/broiled-butterflied-chicken-recipe.html

Virgin Coconut Oil Deoderant

I LOVE coconut oil, Nutiva in particular is rich fragrant and amazing! Recently I found a recipe for natural deodorant on my beloved Pinterest  and thought I would give it a whirl.  There is a lot of speculation about the negative  effects of aluminum in commercial antiperspirants.  I am not the kind of person who reads one article on the internet and runs around screaming about how the sky is falling. What I will say is, and common sense dictates that, the fewer chemicals and heavy metals I put on or in my body, the healthier I will be.  This recipe was super easy and all I did was pack it into an empty deodorant dispenser and stick it in the fridge for a few minutes to make sure it was good and solid. I keep it on my dresser in my room, I have a feeling that in a warm steamy bathroom you might end up with a melty mess.  I have been using it for the last two days and it is working like a charm.  I made mine fragrance free because I personally love the smell of the coconut oil on its own. Click the picture below for the recipe.

Egg Free Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn’t love an ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie?  These turned out really well even though I was winging it.  I used almond butter that I made myself with a touch of honey and cinnamon in it, but store bought should work fine.  If you want a sweeter batter replace the coconut flour with brown sugar or use almond butter with honey in it.

Makes 12 cookies

1 Tbs of chia seeds
3 Tbs of warm water
1 cup of almond butter
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 cup organic bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a measuring cup mix chia seeds and water. Let sit until gloopey.  This is your egg replacement.  In food processor  add chia mixture, almond butter, vanilla and sprinkle evenly with baking soda, coconut flour and shredded coconut. The dough should be pretty stiff, if it is runny you need to add more coconut flour.  Mix until combined.  Poor mixture into large mixing bowl and fold in chocolate chips (I used my hands).  Scoop batter onto cookie sheet with  tablespoon measurer as your guide.  This should yield about a dozen cookies.  Flatten cookies slightly with a fork and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.  I cooked mine for 12. They need to cool for a good ten minutes before you remove them from the cookie sheet so they set up.  Enjoy!

Citrus Shamrock Shake

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s day and while I won’t be partaking in the consumption of any green beer, I can certainly enjoy one of these! This tastes just like a creamscicle and is loaded with baby spinach.

1 Tangelo
1/2 cup frozen mango pieces
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
3 cups of baby spinach

Blend fruit and liquids first then add in spinach. Voila! A delicious green smoothie!

How to Eat Liver When You Hate It

I absolutely hate liver!  I don’t like the way it looks, I can’t stand how it smells and I have never, ever wanted to eat it of my own free will.  My dad always said that eating liver was like eating the oil filter out of your car.  I didn’t find that idea very appealing. The Wahls Protocol sings the praises of organ meat and one of the recommendations is eating 4oz of it a week.  Never one to back down from a challenge, I decided I had to find a way to make this at least okay if not good.  Not only did it end up tasting good, but my kid who hates everything had seconds!!!! I repeat, he had two bowls full! He wasn’t impressed with the zucchini noodles but he loved the meat. I have to admit I smirked smugly at my husband. I realize past posts have had us avoiding nightshades.  Today I picked up the freshly pressed Wahls Protocol and Dr. Wahls makes no assertion about them.  I will say that this is a perspective of someone with MS.  Someone with rheumatoid arthritis might have a  completely different opinion or experience. We were quite thrilled to be able to have tomatoes again!  I decided to make a spaghetti sauce and it turned out better than any I had made before! Not just good for a special diet, but actually freakin’ good. I used tomatoes in my freezer from last year’s garden but fresh tomatoes will work just as well.  I also used roasted sweet potato in place of tomato paste. Sweet potato acted as both thickener and natural sweetener to combat the acidity of the tomatoes. I served the sauce on finely julienned zucchini. All I did to prepare the zucchini was lightly salt it and pour the sauce over it to soften. It does not need to be cooked or you will end up with mush.
Here is the recipe.

2TBS coconut oil divided
1lb beef liver
1lb ground beef
TSP sea salt divided
1/2 TSP pepper divided
1/2 TSP roasted  garlic powder
4 cloves garlic minced
1 cup onion finely diced
1 cup yellow sweet pepper finely diced
5 medium tomatoes pureed with 1/2 cup of hot water.
1/2 cup mashed roasted sweet potato
TBS fresh oregano
TBS fresh basil

First you have to cut the liver into bite size chunks. Cut off any hard or dark bits.  Anything that seems like it will be tough will be. Get rid of it. Put liver into food processor or blender and puree into a slurry.  Mix processed liver and ground beef together. Add 1TBS of coconut oil to large stew pot on medium high heat. Brown meat after sprinkling with 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Remove from pot and set aside. In blender or food processor liquify five medium tomatoes with 1/2 cup of warm water. Strain liquid to remove skin and seeds. Add additional 1 TBS of coconut oil to stew pot.  Saute garlic, onion and pepper until softened. Add in liquified tomato, 1/2 cup of mashed sweet potato and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to boil and reduce to low heat. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in fresh herbs.  If you want to use dry herbs, use a tsp of each and add to sauce when you add your tomatoes. Dry herbs need time to reconstitute to release flavour.

Thai Inspired Bacon Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup

My husband’s favourite soup is a sweet potato Thai soup. Unfortunately it has red peppers, curry spice and peanut butter in it.  I decided to give it a few tweaks to see if I could make something protocol friendly and delicious.  I had 6 strips of leftover nitrate free bacon and didn’t want it to go to waste so I tossed that in there too.  Obviously this was an excellent idea! You could easily omit it, if you wanted a vegan soup.  Just use coconut oil to saute the veggies.

Servings: 6

• 6 strips of nitrate free bacon chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 tsp of grated ginger
• one head of cauliflower roughly chopped
• 3 cups of chopped sweet potato (I used one giant sweet potato)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• tsp cumin
• tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper
• 3 cups of water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Juice of one lime
• tsp raw honey

In a large pot saute bacon until cooked through but not crunchy. Add in garlic, onions and ginger and cook two to three minutes until they are softened.  Add in cinnamon, cumin, salt and pepper, stir until evenly blended with contents of pot.  Add cauliflower, sweet potato, water and coconut milk (I make my own coconut milk but canned should do fine).  Bring liquid to a boil then lower heat and simmer until vegetables are fork tender. Puree with a hand blender or transfer in batches to your blender to puree.  If you prefer a thicker soup continue to cook until it reduces to a consistency you like, otherwise remove from heat and stir in lime juice and honey.  Garnish with chopped baby spinach or fresh cilantro.

Roasted Cabbage Salad

I am always on the look out for easy work lunches. Last night I made oven roasted cabbage wedges for dinner.  I sprinkled them with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and sea salt and tossed them in the oven at 400F for 40 minutes.  With the leftovers, I chopped them up and made this lovely salad for work.  Chop up your choice of veggies and protein.  For dressing I used 1TBS of olive oil, 1 TBS of cider vinegar, a drop of honey and salt and pepper.  The roasted cabbage has a nice sweet flavour and it is a very filling satisfying lunch.

The 21 Day Sugar Detox Cookbook Review

I just purchased The 21 Day Sugar Detox written by Diane Sanfillipo, BS, NC.  Click on the picture above to check out the website.     I did not buy this for the actual meal plan or program, I bought it for the over 100 recipes that are “100% gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and Paleo-friendly”.  In the book there are several levels of the detox diet.  The book is fairly comprehensive and contains a self quiz to help you choose which level you should be on.  There are modified diets for pregnant and nursing mothers, people who need more carbohydrates, pescetarians and my personal point of focus, people with autoimmune disorders. 

All of the recipes are color coded with symbols to let you know if the recipe you are reading is appropriate for you. Each recipe also has highlighted words in the margin letting you know if a recipe contains nuts, eggs, or nightshades.  I love that I can just flip around looking for the symbol that is right for us.  The book is full of really nice pictures.  I can’t stand cookbooks without pictures!  If I can’t see what I am going to be making I am typically not that interested.  It is kind of like doing a jigsaw puzzle without the lid.  The recipes look great and are simple. There are lots of recipes for condiments too, which I really like. She even has spice mix recipes.  The first recipe that I tried in this book was for my son.  Who has complained loudly “Awwww why do WE have to be the organic family?  When can I get my treats back?”  I decided on the “Sunbutter Brownies”.  All they contained were green tipped bananas, sunbutter, which I replaced with almond butter, eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla and sea salt.  Did they turn out like ooey gooey morsels of chocolaty heaven?  LORD NO. Were they palatable?  Certainly.  These will be perfect as an on the go protein packed breakfast for myself.  My son on the other hand asked if he could spit his bite out.  Here is a picture of them from the book and what they looked like when I made them.  If you wanted them more treat like I would suggest using brown specked bananas and a little bit of honey but there goes your sugar detox! Would I recommend buying this book if you are trying to adhere to the Wahls Protocal?  Yes. The main dishes look delicious and easy to make and there are all kinds of tips and tricks that come in handy as well.

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Baked Sweet Potato Chips

These are easy and so so good!  Get out your mandolin and make some paper thin slices of sweet potato. Toss them in extra virgin olive oil. I seasoned mine with sea salt and garlic powder.  5 minutes per side at 400 F.  Be careful these can burn in a flash depending on your oven so keep an eye on them. They are done when they are crispy. 

Two Weeks In Progress Report

It has been two weeks in and as a family we can already see an improvement.  We have also realized that some tweaks have to be made.

My Husband:

He is doing great.  He is not having to take as many pills to stay awake, but because of this, his appetite has come back full force.  He is HUNGRY.  He has also lost weight, which he doesn’t need to do.  As a result we have added a little more meat and whole grain rice back into his diet.  We have consulted a nutritionist who assures us that this is sound.  He has also given us the thumbs up for almond milk as long as it doesn’t contain carageenan.  He says the brain fog has significantly lifted and he isn’t getting frustrated as easily as he usually does.  I have noticed an improvement in his cognition, short term memory and over all mood.  It isn’t perfect and it is only the beginning but we will take any positives we can get!  We have determined that he has a sensitivity to eggs.  So those have been nixed from family meals.

Me:

I feel fantastic.  I no longer feel like going into a coma at 3 pm.  I am losing excess weight at a healthy pace, my skin and hair look great and I am sleeping like a baby.  I am thrilled because I am not counting calories, weighing things or obsessing about points.  I am eating healthy food when I am hungry and coming up with all kinds of recipes.

The Boy:

He is actually eating!  He is the pickiest kid I have ever met and he has been eating smoothies with spinach in them, trying beets and putting kale on his lunch sandwiches of his own volition!  His moodiness is greatly improved and he is way less likely to burst into tears when frustrated.  Now, when foraging for snacks, he goes straight to the fruit drawer.  I can’t believe it!  Of course, I have tossed all of the garbage food in our house so he really doesn’t have any other option, but he is eating so well and that makes me a happy mama.

Beef Heart Stew

Part of the Wahls Protocol is eating organ meat once a week. Beef heart was pretty intimidating to me.  I did not grow up eating organ meat.  Throw me some escargot or frog’s legs, no problem, but a big ol’ cow heart freaks me out.  I am pleased to say that this dish turned out “hearty” and flavorful.  I apologize for the cheesy pun, I just couldn’t help myself.

First thing was to prepare the beef heart.  Here is how it comes in a package.

To prepare the heart I cut it in half and chopped off all of the fatty bits and any weird ventricley or hard to the touch parts.  A beef heart is pretty cheap and giant so cutting away a big portion of it didn’t make me feel that terrible.  I figured the less texturally frightening it was the better. Here is what I ended up with.

Next, I I sprinkled the heart with a little sea salt and dredged it in some arrowroot flour.

See?  No longer terrifying.  Here is the full recipe.

• 1 Beef heart trimmed of fat, blood vessels and ventricles, cubed.
• 1/4 cup of arrowroot flour
• 2 Tbsp of coconut oil
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 1 cup of mushrooms sliced
• 1 cup of dry red wine
• 3-4 cups of water
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cloves
• 1 Tsp of sea salt
• 1/2 Tsp of black pepper
• 2 large carrots sliced
• 1 small turnip cubed
• 3 baby bok choy with core removed
• 1 TBSP of balsamic vinegar

Prepare beef heart as noted above.  Heat coconut oil on medium heat and add beef heart to pan. Stir until evenly browned.  Do not crowd meat or it will not brown nicely.  Remove meat from pot and put aside.  Saute garlic, onion and mushrooms until onions start to soften.  Put meat back in pot and add red wine.  Bring to a boil and let cook for 3-5 minutes to ensure the alcohol burns off.  Add in water, salt, pepper, bay leaf, cloves.  Simmer for 1 hour, Add carrots and turnip.  Bring mixture back up to a boil, then reduce to low simmer.  Cover pot and let stew cook 20 mins until vegetables are fork tender.  Add in bok choy and cook until it is just wilted.  You want it to maintain its color and a little bit of crunch. Remove from heat and add in balsamic vinegar.  If you prefer a gravy like consistency you can mix equal parts of arrowroot powder and cold water and add it to your stew. I suggest doing it a teaspoon full at a time.

Shop Local and Eat Well!

Today was a grocery adventure and a half!  I set myself the goal of finding local, grass fed meat and boy did I ever!  After a quick Google search I happened upon Svetec Farms. We got plenty of quality meats at reasonable prices and met with farmer, Paul Svetec.  He was incredibly friendly and informative.  All of his meat is grass fed and certified organic.  The farm is only a twenty minute drive from my house and is located in Hampton Ontario.  You can check out Svetec Farms by clicking on the pic of Paul and his family.

Pictured above is the bounty we came home with from Svetec Farms.  Gluten free pork and beef sausage, stew beef, beef liver, farm fresh eggs, ground beef and a couple of packets of seeds for our garden.  I typically make it my mission not to spend more than $8.00 on meat per family dinner and I am pleased to say my mission was accomplished today.  They won’t have chicken again until July but I am eagerly anticipating picking some up!

Our next stop was Healthy Meats in Whitby Ontario.  This shop is a  ten minute drive from my house and has an excellent selection of Ontario meat.  Including chicken, beef, pork, lamb, bison and fish.  The Beef is all grass fed and I was able to buy beef hearts and chicken livers here, which have not been easy for me to find.  The prices are also very reasonable.  Click on the photo below to go to their Facebook page.  The shop owner was super friendly and even recommended some cooking techniques.  There is a lending library of cookbooks on site as well.

I picked up beef heart, chicken livers, soup bones and some gigantic local garlic!  I can’t wait to use all of my new ingredients!  The organ meat is going to be quite a challenge for me, but is an important part of the Wahls Protocol.  I will be scouring around for good offal recipes and will post my findings on here.

Lastly we made a stop at Feel Good Natural Health Store in Oshawa Ontario.  This is an excellent store with an excellent selection of supplements and food products.  They have an online store that delivers to both Canada and the U.S.  https://www.feelgoodnatural.com/  Here I picked up some local raw wildflower honey and I can’t wait to taste it!

It was a very successful day as a hunter gatherer and I didn’t break the bank.  I end my day feeling inspired and excited by my new ingredients!  I am so happy to live in a place with so many resources for fresh healthy food.

Roasting Frozen Vegetables

I have always hated frozen vegetables. They always tasted like dishwater and the bag they came in.  Turns out, I was just cooking them wrong! Get yourself a large freezer bag, a TBS of olive oil, a couple of cloves of minced garlic and your frozen vegetable of choice. Toss all the ingredients around in the bag so they are well coated then put them in a baking pan and roast at 375 F for about 20 minutes. With very little effort you have yourself some tasty veggies!

A Chocolate Smoothie That is Good For You! Kid Approved!

My son is a notoriously picky eater and like a lot of kids hates anything green.  I came up with this concoction to see if I could get some spinach into him and it worked like a charm!  I also found it to be a great option when I am craving something sweet but don’t want to deviate from the plan.

Chocolate Banana Smoothie
1 banana
2 ice cubes
1 Tbsp of almond butter
1 cup almond milk
1Tbsp unsweetened organic cocoa
2 Tsp of raw honey
1/4 Tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of spinach

Blend until smooth.  You may need a little more almond milk, I always eyeball it when I make smoothies.

Which Vegetables Are The Most Heavily Laden With Pesticides?

EWG’s 2013 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™

The Environmental Working Group has developed a very handy guide when it comes to purchasing produce.  In it you will find what they call the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen.  The Dirty Dozen is a list of fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residues.  These are the ones that I make a concerted effort to buy organic.  Make sure to rinse any non organic fruits and vegetables in vinegar and water to eliminate as much residue as possible.

Easy Avocado Tuna Kale Salad

Looking for an easy tasty way to get in your leafy greens?  This is just the trick.  It tastes great, is super filling and contains a healthy dose of good fats and lean protein.    I absolutely despise lettuce, so salads are typically not a go to food for me.  Kale is SO much better than lettuce, it doesn’t get soggy, wilty or rusty.  I can dress my salad in the morning before work and it isn’t a gloppy gross mess by lunch time.

• 1 avocado
• 1/2 English cucumber chopped into bite size pieces
• juice of half lime
• 4 oz of tuna shredded
• 2 cups of kale torn into bite size pieces
• salt and pepper to taste
• (for those without autoimmune disorders throw in a pinch of cumin and chop up a bit of jalapeno pepper for added zing

Mash avocado add in shredded tuna, squeeze in lime juice, salt and pepper and give another good stir.  Toss Kale in mixture and stir it around so it is evenly coated (I find using my hands is easiest).

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen

This recipe is so good. Not just good for healthy food but plain old good! I would order this in a restaurant. I brought leftovers to work for lunch and everyone in the office asked for the recipe because it smelled so good. I tweaked the sauce to fit with what I already had in my pantry and I omitted the chili flakes as they are from the nightshade family and not recommended for people with autoimmune disorders. Here is my version of the sauce:

• 2 TBSP coconut aminos
• 2TBSP fish sauce
• 1.5 TBSP cider vinegar
• 1.5 TBSP water
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• Juice of half lime
• honey to taste

The honey and the lime really boost the flavor! Click on the picture for the full recipe.

EASY Coconut Milk Recipe

With the massive amounts of smoothies being eaten at our house lately, we are going through boat loads of almond milk. It certainly isn’t light on the pocket book! I thought there had to be a more economical solution. Once again I turned to Pinterest and found this! It also led me to an amazing blog called Wellness Mama! This took no time to make (I actually made two batches with the same coconut) and it turned out just fine. It smells amazing! We are still drinking almond milk but we cut it with the coconut milk now. Wellness Mama says to strain it with a cheese cloth but my little sieve did just fine. I just squished the liquid out of the pulp with my fingers because I am impatient and don’t like to wait around. Click on the picture for the recipe!

Budgetary Comparison of Organic VS Regular Store Bought Vegetables

Of course organic fruits and vegetables are the best and healthiest to eat.  Unfortunately they can sometimes be cost prohibitive.  It is better to eat regular fruit and veg instead of crap from a box or can, even if you can’t afford the expense of organic.  My budget is pretty tight right now, so until it improves and until the summer is upon us and my garden is back in full swing, it is the Freshco for me.  Here in Durham Region there is an excellent local resource for organic foods delivered right to your door. It is called Durham Organics.  They are fantastic.  Quick to email back if you have any questions and they strive to provide as many local foods as possible.  I have taken the liberty of doing a side by side price comparison.  Perhaps you will find the price differential not so insurmountable.  If so, that is fantastic!  I would also hope that someone who is fearful of changing to a whole foods diet because of the expense will see that it really isn’t that bad! Those box meals and ready made meals can really add up!

Durham Organics

Click here to view the bin selection!  There is plenty to choose from and you can set preferences and customize all of your orders!

Green With Envy Bin – 42.00 before tax  Add On Juicing Box – 25.00 before tax

This is based on my customized order.  I LOVE that you can pick and choose the items you want for a flat fee.  It is also pretty great to have it delivered right to your door in reusable bins!  FYI, I have absolutely no affiliation with this company, I just think they are great!

• 1 Avocado
• 1 Lemon
• 1 LB of local onions
• 1 bunch of parsnips
• 2 bunches of beets
• 2 bunches of kale
• 3 bunches of spinach
• 1 bunch of broccoli
• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 bunch of bananas
• 1 container blueberries
• 7 Fiji apples
• 2 Navel Oranges
• 5lb of clementines
• 1 Grapefruit

Total:  67.00

Freschco

I love this grocery store.  It is budget friendly, has an excellent international selection of foods and the produce is always in great shape.  The staff is super friendly and always helpful at the store I frequent. They never just point to an aisle and say “It’s over there”.  In fact, today, I got there at the end of the day and the kale was pretty picked over.  The kid working in the produce section said “No problem” and ran to get a box of fresh Kale.  That is service!

• 1 Avacado = 0.99
• 1 Lemon = 0.50
• bag of onions = 1.49
• 1 bunch of parsnips = 1.99
• 2 bunches of beets = 4.98
• 3 bunches of spinach = 2. 97
• 1 bunch broccoli = 1.49
• 1 head of cauliflower = 1.99
• 1 bunch of bananas = 0.93
• 1 container blueberries = 3.49
• 7 Fiji apples = 4.30
• 2 pears = 1.40
• 2 navel oranges = 2.58
• .5lb clementines = 6.25
• 1 grapefruit = 0.50

Total =  35.85

This is by no means all the vegetables I purchase for the week,  I also bought tangelos, blackberries, strawberries, plums, English cucumbers, a big container of baby spinach, and spaghetti squash. We have lots of happy eating to do!  I was fearful at first that we would not eat all the food and it would go to waste but by the end of week one the fridge was bare and ready to load up again.  It felt like quite an accomplishment.  Careful meal planning and making sure we ate all nine servings of fruits and vegetables made it work.

Cauliflower Leek Soup

This was really good and I am so surprised because it is so simple to make. Once again I am using coconut oil. Coconut oil is fantastic. It has a high smoking temperature, it is clear, doesn’t taste or smell like anything and is actually good for you! That is a winner in my books.

1 TBSP Coconut Oil
2 clove garlic minced
1 shallot chopped
1/2 Spanish onion chopped
3 leeks chopped thinly (white parts only)
1 head of cauliflower
4 cups chicken stock
1 stalk of lemon grass halved and smashed with a meat tenderizer
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a large pot heat coconut oil. Saute garlic, shallot, onion and leek until they start to soften. Add in cauliflower, stock and lemon grass. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower is fork tender. Remove lemon grass and puree with a hand blender. Season as you like it. I used about a half tsp of salt and quarter tsp of pepper. The lemongrass makes this really tasty!

Beef Shank Stew

I apologize for the lack of pictures.  I was cooking for company and didn’t have time for a giant photo shoot.  I am also not a fabulous photographer.  This is the first meal I made after my inaugural Wahl Protocol grocery trip and it was absolutely DELICIOUS!  I love to cook and I love a new challenge.  This diet is certainly a challenge!  After a veritable shopping spree at my local Freshco, this is what I came up with for dinner.  I found some frozen sliced beef shanks in the freezer section and since the good doctor says that bone broth is excellent for healing a troubled gut, I thought this would be just the thing.

• 2TBS of coconut oil
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 2 shallots chopped
• 1/2  spanish onion chopped
• three cloves
• Package of sliced beef shanks (there were about 5 half inch thick slices)
• 3 cups pinot noir wine (I know, I know cheating on the first recipe but we had this lovely wine and I didn’t want to waste it)
• water (enough to cover the beef shanks)
• tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 Medium sweet potato chopped
• 5 baby bok choy (chopped greens only)
• Two large carrots chooped
• Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

In a large pot, heat coconut oil.  Add first three ingredients and saute until soft.  Add clove, beef shanks, wine, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then lower and  let simmer for one hour. Pull out the bones, scoop any marrow out and put back in the stew and cut and edible meat bits off and put them back in the stew. Add vegetables, bring back up to a boil and then down to a simmer until carrots and sweet potatoes are fork tender.  You may want to wait to the end to put in your bok choy so it stays nice and green but I didn’t bother. Remove from heat and stir in balsamic vinegar.  VOILA!  Deeeeelicous and hearty.