Tag: gluten-free

Cauliflower Butter Chicken

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This is my absolute favourite recipe to make at the moment.  I make it about once a week and I usually end up doubling the recipe so that we have leftovers as well!  I think I could eat it every day.  Butter chicken and chocolate.  Balance!

Plus, it’s so easy to prepare.  It’s something I can make even when I have 3 little boys running around.  Three!  Arlo is walking now so our house just got a little bit crazier, which means I have to make meals that I can pull together quickly!

If you are dairy free, simply substitute coconut oil when cooking the chicken and onions, and don’t worry about adding any extra at the end.  I usually use salted butter, so you may want to season to taste if you are making the substitution.

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Butter Chicken

Serves 4.

  • 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • ½ cup butter, divided
  • Cilantro, to garnish

Cut chicken breasts into 1” chunks. In a large pan, add 2 tbsp butter and cook the chicken on both sides until no longer pink. Careful not to overcook them.  You want them to remain juicy! Remove from pan and set aside.

Melt another 2 tbsp butter in the pan and add the onion and cook over medium/low heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, garam masala, ginger, paprika, and cumin, and cook for another minute.

Add the tomatoes, lemon juice, and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Cook over medium/low heat for 10-15 minutes to boil off some of the water.

Return the chicken to the pan and add the rest of the butter. Simmer for 5 minutes to reheat the chicken.

Serve with cauliflower rice, recipe below.

Basic Cauliflower Rice

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ¼ tsp sea salt

Chop cauliflower into small florets. Place cauliflower in small batches into a food processor and pulse until it resembles rice.

Melt the butter in a large pan and add the rice-sized cauliflower. Cook over medium heat, covered, until tender, 5-8 minutes.  Add a few tbsp of water or chicken stock if you need moisture in the bottom of the pot.

While cauliflower is cooking, add salt and turmeric.

Traditional Greek Salad

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I LOVE Greek salad.  What I don’t love is ordering it in a restaurant and being incredibly disappointed pretty much every time.  Greek salad doesn’t have lettuce in it.  It’s full of chunky vegetables and kalamata olives!  They should be the star of the show, and not just a garnish atop iceberg lettuce!  Rant over.  Here’s how to make a simple Greek salad that surely won’t disappoint!

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Greek Salad

  • 4 tomatoes, cut into chunks
  • 1 cucumber, cut into chunks
  • 1 green pepper, cut into chunks
  • 1 red pepper, cut into chunks
  • 5 oz goat’s milk feta cheese, crumbled
  • ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
  • ¼ cup sliced red onion
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Serve immediately.

If serving a large number of people, you can cut up all of the vegetables ahead of time.  Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, black pepper, and garlic in a separate bowl and set aside.  Mix in the dressing just before serving.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

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These muffins took a few weeks to perfect but they were worth the wait!  The recipe makes 15 muffins because each time I tried to change the amount of batter, the muffins didn’t turn out as well as this exact recipe.  I ended up just placing the 3 extra silicone muffin cups on top of the filled muffin tin (each at a joint between 4 muffins in the tin).  I hope that makes perfect sense to you…  If I overfilled the silicone cups, the muffins would cook over the edges and were impossible to remove.

I happen to have xylitol in the pantry, so if you don’t you can either skip it or use a pinch of sugar.  I love the extra hint of sweetness on top since cranberries are quite tart.

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Cranberry Orange Muffins

  • 1.5 cups + 2 tbsp almond flour
  • 3 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla powder (vanilla extract works also)
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 tbsp orange zest (zest of 2 naval oranges)
  • 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries
  • xylitol for garnish

Line a muffin tin with silicone cups.

In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, chia seeds, baking soda, vanilla powder, and sea salt.

In a separate bowl, mash the banana, and add the orange zest, orange juice, eggs, maple syrup, and coconut oil.  Mix well and add to the dry mixture.

Mix in cranberries.

Scoop the muffin batter into the silicone muffin cups, filling them each 3/4 of the way.

Bake for 25 minutes.  Let cool completely in pan to avoid muffins falling apart!

Enjoy!

 

 

Banana Chocolate Walnut Muffins

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I have finally found the perfect recipe base for muffins!  I am so excited for where my Saturdays are going.  This recipe was first on my list to tackle and I am proud to say that the recipe is finally finished!

If you love walnuts you can add a few handfuls to base of the recipe as well.  I was scared the kids wouldn’t eat them if I loaded the recipe with them but several test batches later and apparently they love walnuts as much as we do.  Though I do measure chocolate chips/chunks generously so maybe that’s why they don’t have a problem with it!

Banana Chocolate Walnut Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

  • 2 overripe bananas
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla powder (vanilla extract works also)
  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
  • ½ cup chocolate chunks
  • walnuts for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a muffin pan with silicon muffin cups.

Mash bananas, and mix in eggs and maple syrup.

Add almond flour, vanilla powder, chia seeds, baking soda, and sea salt.  Mix well.

Warm coconut oil until just melted and mix in.

Lastly, mix in chocolate chunks.

Full muffin cups 3/4 full, and top muffins with walnuts.

Bake for 20-25 minutes (I usually do 23) and let cool in the pan for best results.

Once cooled, gently pull the muffins away from the silicon cups and they will pop out perfectly!

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Raw Key Lime Pie

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We were in Montreal this week for a family wedding, and after it was all over it felt like we had pretty much eaten non-stop for 36 hours.  Feeling that we needed to get back on track instantly, we went for a grueling morning run to Mont Royal and then up and down, up, down, up, and down the staircase of death that is the Mont Royal Staircase.

Starving and barely able to walk, we were so excited to try out Montreal’s raw food restaurant: Crudessence.  Once there, we were bitten by the raw food bug once again.  When we got home I dug out my dusty raw food word docs and pulled out this gem!  Here is a recipe that I initially wrote 8 YEARS ago, back when I discovered raw food, David Wolfe, and was attending the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition!

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Raw Key Lime Pie

Crust:

  • 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

Place walnuts and pecans in food processor and pulse until nuts start to stick together.  Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until well combined.  Press into the bottom of a tart pan and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling:

  • 2 cups cashews
  • 1 cup coconut cream (the solid mass in one can of coconut milk)
  • 2/3 cup fresh key lime juice (or regular lime juice)
  • 1/3 cup local honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into your tart shell and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

 

 

 

 

Moroccan-Style Meatballs

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This meal came together very quickly and it was so good that I’ll be making it again very soon.  It was a hit with our 3 year old but the 18 month old won’t eat meat, and apparently is rebelling against carrots now too…

We served it with quinoa, but it can be a stand on its own dish served with a side salad.

meatballs

Moroccan-Style Meatballs adapted from here.

Serves 4-6

  • 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1/3 cup grated onion
  • 1 egg
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp chili
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp dried ginger
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands.  Form meatballs slightly larger than golf balls, place onto a plate and set aside.

Stew

  • 2 tbsp coconut oil (or butter)
  • 3 onions, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 28oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup organic raisins
  • 3 medium carrots, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a large oven-safe pot, cook onions in coconut oil over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 10-15 minutes.

Add cinnamon, turmeric, and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add broth, tomatoes, raisins, and carrots, and bring to a boil.

Carefully press meatballs into the stew mixture until covered, sprinkle with cilantro, and cover the pot.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until carrots are tender.