Mango "Salsa"- AIP Recipe

I am on week 2 of the Auto Immune Protocol and I miss condiments.  Like seriously, what am I supposed to put on my food?  Later today I am going to attempt to make some "flat bread" and "bbq sauce" (I put those in quotes because they will be far from the real thing), but for now I am going to share this salsa recipe with you.  It's not exactly like salsa, but it is close enough for me, and it gives my food some flavor!

In a large bowl, add 1 diced red onion*, 5-7 diced radishes (these will give us a little peppery kick since we can't have real peppers), 2 diced mangos, the zest and juice of 2 limes, 1 clove of garlic minced, and a handful of chopped cilantro.  Mix to combine well, and then allow to chill in the fridge a few hours (or over night). Once it is chilled, taste and add a sprinkle of Himalayan sea salt (you won't need much) if needed.  I serve it on top of everything (like lettuce wrap tacos!), occasionally combined with avocado to make guacamole!

21 Day Fix Conversion- 1 purple

*note- this as a really strong onion flavor, especially once the radishes and onions sit in the lime juice over night. I like onions, but if you don't, you might want to use less to start with.

No-Mato Marinara Sauce

My family and I have decided to do a not so fun elimination diet to see if it helps clear up any of our issues.  We've known we needed to try it for awhile, but we've kind of been putting it off.  We got back last week from vacation, and with 2 months before the holidays really get going, we decided now was the time to buckle down and commit!

We will be following the Auto Immune Protocol Diet, which means no grains, dairy, seeds, nuts, sugar, alcohol, and nightshades.  Out of all of those, it's the nightshades I miss the most.  Enter, No-Mato Marinara Sauce.  For not having any tomatoes, it is pretty tomatoey.  I made mine on the thick side, so I can thin it out as need for different recipes.  I am also going to try to use it in place of tomato paste in beef stew (per my husband's request), but more on that later.

I started by sautéing a red onion in a small amount of olive oil.  Once they were soft I added a clove of minced garlic, 3 cups chopped carrots, and 1 chopped beets.  After stirring, I added 1 cup water and brought the mixture to a boil.

I reduced the heat to low, and allowed the veggies to simmer for 1 hour.  Once cooked, I transferred the ingredients to a blender with the juice of 1 lemon, a palm full of Italian herbs, and a tsp of himalayan sea salt.  I blended until smooth, adding more water as needed to keep the mixture going.  This batch made 12 servings. Adding more water, or liquid when cooking would increase the serving size.

To serve, I combined the sauce with ground beef (pre cooked, from my freezer stash), additional seasonings (because the meat was unseasoned), and 1/4 cup pork stock (made from cooking down a ham bone, and straining off most of the fat).  I heated the ingredients until well combined, and then served the meat sauce over roasted spaghetti squash.  If you are following the 21 Day Fix (which I am not currently on, but I try to keep the balance on the containers in the back of my mind), the plain sauce counts as 1 green.  With the ground meat, it would be 1 green and 1 red.

3 Day Jump Start

We all have those weeks/months/seasons where we don't eat like we should or are a little more lax in our diet than usual.  When this happens to me, and I realize it's time for a change, I find the easiest way is to jump in feet first.  I spend 3 days really cleaning out my pantry, and only eating super clean, low carb and low sugar to really got my body prepared and used to this healthier way of eating.  

During the 3 days I focus on tons of water, vegetables, fruits, clean proteins, and food that give me the most nutritional bang for my buck.  My calorie intake is slightly lower than usual these days, but it is certainly not a starvation diet.  It is just enough to bump my metabolism and kick start my body.

After the 3 days I am super ready to get back into the clean and healthy lifestyle.  Not only have I prepared myself emotionally, but my body is primed for all the good nutritious food, and I've broken through the sugar and carb addiction.  If you like more information on my 3 Day Jump Start, please contact me or message me on Facebook!

Breakfast Deviled Eggs

I have only recently learned to eat hard boiled eggs.  My mother hates eggs, and she only ever made me scrambled eggs as a child. Lately I have lamented the fact that I don't like hard boiled eggs, and how much easier breakfast would be if I did.  So I decided to start with deviled eggs.  I just kept trying them, and finally yesterday I liked them.  This gave me hope, so this morning when my niece said she'd like a hard boiled egg white,  I attempted a breakfast deviled egg for myself.

While I enjoyed a regular deviled egg at dinner, I didn't think mustard and mayo were going to be appetizing for breakfast.  I also wanted a recipe that was 21 Day Fix friendly.  So, I swapped the mayo and mustard for ricotta cheese.  I used about 1/2 TBSP per egg (roughly equal parts yolk to ricotta).  I mashed it together with a fork and add a small amount of salt and pepper.

I then topped each egg white shell with the yolk and ricotta mixture.  There was a little more filling than the usual deviled egg, but it felt like the perfect yolk to white ratio to me! I count 3 halves as 1 red container 21 Day Fix container (since 2 whole eggs equal 1 red, or 3/4 cup ricotta). If you'd like more information about the 21 Day Fix, please feel free to contact me!

"Apple of My Eye" Sauce

I will never buy store bought applesauce again.  As it is, I only bought unsweetened apple sauce for baking purposes, but now I don't even need to do that any more.  This morning I was taking stock of my pantry, and I realized I was out of apple sauce cups.  I like the cups because they 1/4 cup and are perfect for substituting oil in a double batch of homemade waffles.  I also like to substitute applesauce for oil in things like brownies and corn bread.  What I did have were 6 lunch box sized apples that had been rolling around in the fruit bin for way too long.

Does this happen to anyone else?  The family says they want apples when you ask what kind of fruit to buy, but the no one ever eats them so they just sit there, getting bruise and mealy? Well if it does, now you can use them to make the best all natural, clean apple sauce.  This recipe could not be easier, and it tastes so much better than store bought!

Ingredients:
6 lunch box sized apples (small to medium sized), any variety
1 cup water

Directions:
Combine the water and the apples in a medium sauce pot.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce, and simmer approximately one hour until the apples can be mashed with the back of a spoon.  Turn off the heat, and allow to cool.  Puree in a blender or food processor until you achieve your desired consistency.

The apple sauce has no added sweater to it, but if you are looking for more of a sweet treat, you could drizzle with raw honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.  This would be great as a topping for waffles, pork chops, oatmeal, yogurt.  I plan on using mine in baking, so I will be freezing it in small containers.  Otherwise, store in the refrigerator for about a week.  Makes 2 cups, 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp equals 1 Purple 21 Day Fix container.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake

I was raised with the mantra of "If it's not chocolate, why bother?" If you ask me what flavor ice cream I want, it's always chocolate.  If you offer me a slice of cake, I'll want it to be chocolate.  Brownies are one of my favorite foods.  However, due to food intolerances and a family history of diabetes and high cholesterol, I don't eat these foods a lot.  Until now.  I have been playing around with minimally processed ingredients, heart healthy fats, and cleaner sugar substitutes.  This has all led me to Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake.

I'll admit, this wasn't 100% my idea.  I had some leftover sweet potatoes, and I new I could bake with other forms of squash, so it seemed like it might work.  I also felt like the natural sugars from the sweet potato would cut down on the amount of added sugar I needed.  But, since I was using cocoa, I knew I needed some sugar.  So I turned to the internet.  I wanted to use coconut sugar has my other sugar (because I had some on hand) and because I knew it worked in a 1:1 ratio of regular sugar.

After comparing what other bakers and bloggers had done, I finally settled on a plan.  My last hurdle was the flour.  I knew I could replace the dairy in a regular cake with cashew milk, the sugar with coconut sugar, and I had figured out how much sweet potato to use, but the gluten free flour was still a mystery to me.  If you've ever tried to bake with gluten free flour, it's always a gamble.  I decided on using a gluten free flour blend, and converting the measurement to grams.  So, if you are not gluten free, then just use the same weight of regular flour.

Ingredients:
2 eggs (This is one of the few foods I don't have an issue with so I refuse to abandon them.  If you can't tolerate eggs, you could try flax or mashed banana)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup cashew milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup mashed sweet potato (about 1 sweet potato)

1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cocoa powder
156 grams flour

Directions:
Combine the eggs, coconut oil and sugar in a blender and blend until well combined and the sugar is dissolved. Add the cashew milk, vanilla and sweet potato and blend until smooth.  In a mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently to incorporate. Pour into a greased baking dish or round cake pan.  Bake for 20-30 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Refrigerate for up to a week.  Reheat individual servings for 15 seconds in the microwave for optimum texture.

Tip: I used a 2 inch biscuit cutter to cut mini cakes that perfectly fit into a yellow 21 day fix container.

Fabulous Fruit Punch

My Husband has developed a fruit punch addiction.  It started when he got sick after Easter.  Nothing tasted right, he was trying to drink plenty of fluids, and the only thing he wanted was fruit punch.  He started drinking Hawaiian Punch, but I really wanted something healthier for him.  I managed to switch him to Juicy Juice, but I still felt like we could do better.  So I made my own!

This punch was really easy to make, and I used ingredients I already had on hand.  It made about half a gallon, although I suspect it will go a little further if he mixes it with sparkling water.  The juice is made from a mix of fruits, veggies, water and some raw honey for sweetness.

Ingredients:

1 beet, peeled
8 baby carrots
1 lemon, peeled
1 lime peeled
1 apple
1 cup mixed berries
4-6 cups of water
1/4-1/2 cup raw honey

Directions:

Chop the fruits and vegetables into small pieces and place in a zip top bag.  Place the bag in the freezer over night.  This step is optional, but you may end up with more pulp if you don't freeze the produce.

Add 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup honey and the fruit in a blender.  Blend until smooth, adding more water as necessary (I used 4 cups). Using a fine mesh strainer to catch any pulp, pour the blended ingredients into another pitcher.   Set the pulp aside for another use (Refreshing Fruit Popsicles!)

Once you have strained the juice, add additional water until you reach your desired consistency.  I used 6 cups of water total, but next time I may use less to make a juice concentrate.