Monthly Archives of: December 2014

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Chorizo and Yam Soup with Rosemary Sea Salt Biscuits

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My local butcher shop sells the most amazing chorizo sausage. I pick up a pack each week and try to find something new to do with it because it is just so delicious and packed full of flavour! Tonight I used it to top my pureed soup and give it a kick. Mission accomplished.

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Chorizo and Yam Soup (with Kale Chips)

(My husband and I polished this off in one sitting with no leftovers. Double it if you are feeding more than two very hungry adults.)

Ingredients:

1 pack of chorizo sausage (about 5 links)

1 leek, chopped

1 orange bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed

4 yams, peeled and chopped

1 apple, chopped

1.5 tsp of ground sage

2 cups of beef bone broth

1 bunch of kale, washed and roughly torn

1-2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 tbsp coconut oil

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2) Combine your chopped leek, pepper, garlic, yams, and apple in a large bowl. Toss with the olive oil, then sprinkle with the sage and a pinch of  sea salt and toss again.

3) Spread your mixture onto a lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until yams are soft.

4) About 15 minutes before your roasting time is up, toss your kale pieces in some olive oil and spread on a lined baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and throw in the oven for 15 minutes while your vegetables finish roasting.

5) While your vegetables are roasting, melt your coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Remove the casing from your chorizo sausage and crumble the sausage into your pan.

6) Fry the sausage until it’s cooked through and then transfer it to a serving dish.

7) When your vegetables and kale are finished roasting, remove both pans from the oven. Let the kale chips cool and then transfer to a serving dish.

8) When the vegetables have cooled, transfer them to a blender, add the beef bone broth, and puree until smooth. Pour into a large soup pot and simmer on the stove for 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, throw the roasted vegetables and bone broth into the soup pot and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

9) Once the soup has been simmering for 5-10 minutes, ladle it into your bowls and top with kale chips and chorizo sausage. Enjoy!

Rosemary Sea Salt Biscuits

(Note: These biscuits are NOT Whole30 approved. No biscuits are!)

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, whites and yolks divided

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 tsp sea salt

1.5 tsp rosemary

4 tbsp cold grass fed butter

1 tsp raw honey (optional)

I really wanted to add some sharp raw cheese to these biscuits, but I don’t tolerate it well. If you are able to tolerate raw dairy, then I think it would be delicious in these biscuits.

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2) Separate your egg whites and yolks into two bowls. Beat your egg whites until they are foamy and begin to form soft peaks.

3) Add your honey to the egg yolks and mix to combine well.

3) Fold your yolks and honey into your egg whites and mix softly until combined.

4) Combine all your dry ingredients into a bowl and then cut your butter into the dry mixture, using a fork or pastry cutter until it is crumbled.

5) Gently combine your egg and honey mixture with your dry ingredients until mixed well. Wait a few minutes for the coconut flour to absorb the excess liquid.

6) Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop your biscuits onto a lined baking sheet, leaving an inch in-between. Depending on the size of your scoop, the recipe should yield about 6-8 biscuits.

7) Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Allow to cool and then slice and enjoy with grass fed butter on top.

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Chorizo Egg Muffins

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I’m always on the hunt for quick protein fixes, especially when I get home from the gym and want to fill my belly right away. In It Starts With Food by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, they advise to eat protein 15 minutes after a workout. I try really hard to make sure that happens and sometimes it’s difficult because I’m really not into shakes or fancy drinks. These egg muffins are perfect! You can pack them to take to the gym with you and eat cold, or pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds when you get home. There are all kinds of variations you could do with these: ground beef and salsa, bacon and veggies, ham and raw cheese, etc.

Ingredients:

-10 eggs

=3 chorizo sausage links

=1 tbsp coconut oil

-1 red bell pepper, diced

-half of a leek, diced

-1 small yam, diced

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2) Melt the coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat.

3) Remove the casing from the chorizo sausage and crumble into the pan. Fry until cooked through.

4) Add your veggies to the sausage in the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, and then remove your sausage and veggies from the pan and let cool. (If you cook them too long they will become mushy when baking in the oven.)

5) Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk them until well blended.

6) Add in your sausage and veggies and mix well.

7) Pour into a lined or well greased muffin tin and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean and dry. This recipe yielded 15 muffins.

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Brussels Sprouts Breakfast Skillet

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A few years ago I would have never imagined eating brussels sprouts for breakfast. When I adopted the grain free, sugar free, dairy free lifestyle, one of my biggest struggles was figuring out what to eat for breakfast. I got sick of scrambled eggs pretty quickly and so started combining meat and veggies and now breakfast has become my favourite meal. I love starting off the day with a full stomach and tons of energy.

I use ground pork for this recipe because it’s relatively cheap. Our family only buys pastured, hormone free, antibiotic free, and humanely raised meats and that really adds up over time and makes a huge dent in our budget. Pork is a cheaper option than chicken, beef or turkey and works well for a meal like this.

As for the brussels sprouts…just try it! My kids won’t touch them on their own, but they’ll gobble them up mixed into this skillet without even noticing. Victory!

This recipe is enough for 3 breakfast meals for myself, or you can stretch it farther by adding 2 eggs to each portion.

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Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp of coconut oil

1 lb ground pork (pastured, hormone and antibiotic free, humanely treated)

1 large yam (or 2 smaller yams), diced

10 brussels sprouts, quartered

1 large apple, diced

2 bell peppers, diced

1 bunch kale, roughly torn into bite size pieces (stems removed)

1-2 tbsp of rosemary

1-2 tbsp of sage

Sea salt to taste

Directions:

1) Heat the coconut oil in a large pan over medium.

2) Crumble your ground pork into the pan and season with sage and rosemary. Sprinkle with salt.

3) Once the pork begins to brown, add the diced yams and brussels sprouts. Mix to combine and continue cooking until yams being to soften to your liking, about 10 minutes.

4) Add your diced apple and peppers. Mix to combine and continue to cook for another 3-5 minutes.

5) Lastly, add your torn kale. Mix to combine, fry for approximately 3 minutes, and then serve and enjoy.

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Holiday Gift Guide

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The holidays are here and gift buying is in full force. Let’s hold off on the boxes of Purdy’s chocolates and look at some healthier and more constructive gifts for this Christmas. Here’s a list of some of my favourite wellness related gifts that any health conscious person on your list is sure to love!

Cookbooks

1) Against All Grain and Against All Grain Meals Made Simple by Danielle Walker.

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These cookbooks have quickly become my absolute favourite paleo cookbooks. I’ve been working my way through them and so far I have been wowed by every recipe. Aside from just the awesome recipes, Danielle Walker herself is a wonderful and inspirational women. I’ve read her personal story on her blog and met her in person and she really is beautiful, inside and out.

Click here to order Against All Grain from Amazon.

2) Well Fed 1 and Well Fed 2 by Melissa Joulwan.

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These two cookbooks are a must have for anyone on your list interested in doing the Whole30 challenge. These cookbooks are Whole30 approved and full of delicious, flavourful recipes. I have used my copies so much that the pages are now curling at the edges and my favourite recipes have some food splatters on them…oops.

Click here to order Well Fed from Amazon.

3) The Paleo Kitchen by Juli Bauer and George Bryant.

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My favourite thing about this cookbook is the simplicity of the recipes. They don’t have long lists of rare ingredients or a ton of steps, yet they turn out tasting like you’ve spent hours in the kitchen. They are simple enough to allow my 3 year old, Charley, to feel like she’s doing most of the work when she helps me make dinner. One of our favourites is the Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread. Mmmm!

Click here to order The Paleo Kitchen from Amazon.

4) Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfillipo.

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This book is a must for anyone new to the paleo lifestyle. It’s full of shopping lists, guides, meal plans, recipe lists and everything you need to get started. It’s one of the first paleo cookbooks I owned and really got me excited about cooking and eating this way.

Click here to order Practical Paleo from Amazon.

Edibles

1) Vanilla Pecan Coconut Butter by Caveman Grocer.

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Oh my goodness. This stuff is a real treat. I met Caveman Grocer at a farmer’s market in Whistler BC and really liked her right off the bat. She makes this delicious coconut butter herself which is extra awesome because I really like to meet the people who actually make the food I eat. My favourite way to eat this is with apple slices but it’s really versatile, and I wouldn’t judge you if you ate it right off the spoon.

Click here to order Vanilla Pecan Coconut Butter.

2) Green and Black’s Organic Chocolate.

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There’s always at least one odd person on your list that you can’t find a unique gift for so you end up giving them chocolate. I encourage you to be ethically conscious this year and consider ordering from a fair trade chocolate company like this one or many others you can find.

Click here to order Green and Black’s Chocolate or find some in any ethically conscious grocery store around you.

3) Level Ground Direct Trade Coffee.

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This is a great brand to purchase from for the coffee snob on your list (aka ME). Direct trade is always your most ethical choice for coffee and this company does not lack in full, robust flavour. Even the decaf is fantastic, and that’s saying a lot coming from me!

Click here to order Level Ground Direct Trade Coffee.

Kitchen Gadgets

1) Paderno Spiralizer.

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You already know how much I love zoodles (zucchini noodles) and I’ve had lots of people ask what kind of tool I use to make them. This is the tool I would use if we had enough kitchen space to store it.

Click here to order the Paderno Spiralizer from Amazon.

2) Veggetti Spiralizer.

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THIS is the tool that I actually use. It works well for now but I’ve still got dreamy eyes for the Paderno.

Click here to order the Veggetti Spiralizer from Amazon.

3) Silicone Baking Cups.

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Both of my kids love paleo baking and we were going through muffin tin liners like crazy. I hated seeing all that waste and so recently invested in some cute silicon baking cups. My kids love the bright colours, and they are BPA free, easy to clean and of course reusable.

Click here to order some Silicone Baking Cups.