Chinese Beef and Broccoli with Kale

Things have been busy here. My mom came out almost two weeks ago for a week to hang out and help get the nursery ready. We had so much fun just being together and shopping for the perfect items to decorate with. She and my dad were so generous to buy the baby furniture and decor as their gift to us. I absolutely LOVE the nursery. I think it is fresh and beautiful. Thanks mom for helping me!!

After mom left last Tuesday, we just had a busy week serving in our chiropractic clinic. This weekend the hubbie and I have been spending some much needed time just the two of us. Unfortunately for him this recipe is actually one I made a few weeks ago and not today. It is delicious. The ground beef is grass fed and full of great vitamins like Iron. The broccoli is like a multivitamin by itself. I added baby kale to punch of the nutrition factor! I love that this meal is a one skillet wonder. The spices are to our taste so you could easily adapt this for your family's palate. Enjoy!

CHINESE BEEF AND BROCCOLI WITH KALE

Serves: 4

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 Tbs coconut flour

3 cups broccoli florets, chopped small

3 cups baby kale, chopped

2-3 Tbs tamari gluten free soy sauce

1 Tbs raw honey

1 tsp sesame oil

1. Heat a large, greased cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onions. Cook, stirring to crumble the meat, until beef is cooked through. Turn heat to high to cook off any fat from the meat, then return the heat to medium. Add coconut flour and stir mixture. 

2. Add broccoli. Cook 3-5 minutes until slightly tender. Add kale and all sauce ingredients (soy sauce through oil). Stir. Cook until the kale is wilted and the sauce is a little bubbly. 

EAT!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have not posted on the blog in almost a month! Forgive me. May was wonderful and crazy. I became an aunt again to a beautiful little girl named Taylor.

Sweet Taylor and Bryant. Please excuse my crazy hair and excessive excitement!

The hubbie and I went on vacation to see our families and go to the beach- it was heavenly. We needed a break and needed time with our families. Memorial Day weekend was full of getting ready for baby in the form of rearranging bedrooms in our house. We also spent time with friends hanging out which was wonderful. Now June is here and we are full speed ahead with our chiropractic office and getting ready for baby. My mom is coming into town on Tuesday for a whole week to help us do the nursery!! I am so excited! And my sister Grace and brother in law Jonathan will be here for two nights in late June. I am one blessed woman to have so many loving, fun relationships in my life.

On to the cookies. These are adapted from a vegan recipe over on Stir It Up. I love them. They are fluffy but not dense like a lot of primal cookies. They do have some sweetener in them in the form of maple syrup but you could probably substitute the same amount of unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana (I have not tried this though so let me know how it goes). One thing I love about this recipe too is that the batter stretches a long way making 20 cookies!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes: 20 small cookies

1 cup blanched almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup almond butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg, whisked

1/4 cup diary free chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, place flour, salt and baking soda. Stir to combine. Add the rest of the ingredients through the egg. Stir to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Using a 1 inch cookie scoop, scoop dough on to a Silpat lined baking sheet. You can place these cookies close together because they do not really spread out. 

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes.

Crock Pot Butternut Squash Soup

I posted a recipe very similar to this a year or so ago but I like this one even better for two reasons: 1. it contains lots of delicious, healthy fat coconut milk, 2. You make it in the crockpot!
Those of you that know me know I love easy cooking techniques and it does not get much easier than your crockpot. The best part is that sometimes all crock pot food ends up tasting the same. Not so with this soup- it is so flavorful it is Evan's favorite soup.

Another great thing about this recipe.... now that temperatures are heating up outside it is nice that with the crock pot you do not have to heat up your kitchen with the stove or oven! This recipe also doubles easily for bigger families or leftovers!

 

CROCK POT BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Serves: 4

 

1 large onion, chopped

1 large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed large

1 14oz can whole coconut milk (not light)

1 cup low sodium vegetable or chicken broth (homemade if you have it)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp curry powder

dash of red pepper

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

dash of sea salt

 

1. Place all ingredients in your crock pot. Stir. (You can adjust the spices to suit your taste or if you have picky eaters you could just do salt and pepper)

2. Cook on high for four hours, medium for six hours or low for eight hours (time just depends on what your day looks like and how fast you want dinner).

3. Once done cooking, puree until smooth using an immersion blender- watch for splattering :)

Grab some spoons and bowls and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Tuna Bacon Cakes

These are so delicious and the best part is that they are made with ingredients you probably already have on hand! I recently found Wild Planet Tuna at Costco and could not believe my eyes. I paid less than $3 per can. At the local grocer I was buying it only when it was on sale because it cost $6 a can! This tuna is so delicious. It is wild caught and not packed in anything- the can is just all meat!

We ate our patties with homemade guacamole- what is not even better with avocado!

 

 

TUNA BACON CAKES

Serves: 3 (2 patties each)

 

10 oz wild canned tuna, flaked

2 slices bacon, diced

1/4 medium onion, diced

2 Tbs garlic

2 Tbs Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp red pepper

1 Tbs coconut flour

1 egg, whisked

sea salt and pepper to taste (use the salt sparingly)

 

1. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add bacon. Cook until crisp. Spoon bacon onto a paper towel covered plate to drain.

2. Add onions to pan. Cook until tender- approximately 5-10 minutes. Add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat

3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl using a fork or your hands. Form into 6 patties

4. cook patties in the leftover bacon grease in your skillet over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes per side. Serve with homemade guacamole. 

Primal Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

The picture does not do these justice. They are so delicious that I made three batches in one week when I first came up with this recipe. That is a bit excessive but these are a great treat or cupcake for a birthday party! The best part is they have hidden vegetables and only 1/8 cup added sweetener for 12 muffins. I love any treat that hides nutrition in them like these muffins, banana bread and carrot muffins. I hope you will make these for your family soon!

 

PRIMAL CHOCOLATE CHIP ZUCCHINI MUFFINS 

Makes: 12 muffins

 

2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1/8 cup honey

2 eggs

1 cup grated zucchini (1 medium/large zucchini)

1/2 cup Enjoy Life dairy free mini chocolate chips

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 liners.

 

2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Using a cookie scoop, scoop equal amounts of batter into each muffin liner.

 

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

 

*This can also be made as a loaf. Follow all directions the same except grease a loaf pan and add batter to pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan before eating.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Nutty Chocolate Chip Bars

These bars are so yummy! I came up with the recipe on Saturday and have already made three batches! True Paleo people will argue they are not Paleo because they have sugar in the chocolate chips and honey, but I would argue they are a great alternative and full of items with great fat and fiber like raw nuts and coconut! So, I will be making them again and I hope you will too!

This recipe is based on the Oatmeal bar recipe I posted a few months ago. Since then we have stopped eating all grains so I just tweaked it a little so they are grain free.

We have friends coming into town next week and I plan to make these as a snack to take on our day of snow tubing and sledding. They are so easily portable. I am not sure I will snow tube since I will be 23 weeks pregnant. We will see if people are staying on the tubes or falling off a lot :) If I do not tube I will have something delicious to do- eat these bars!

 

NUTTY CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS

Serves: 8-9 depending on if you cut the bars long or into squares

 

1 1/2 cups raw nuts (I used 1 cup almonds and 1/2 cup walnuts)

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 Tbs flax seed meal

4 Tbs raw honey

2 heaping Tbs almond butter

1/4 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

1/8 cup white chocolate chips (I used the dairy free brand Sunset)

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

2. Pulse nuts in food processor until they are in fine pieces. Pour into a large bowl.

 

3. Add to the bowl the coconut, flax meal, honey, almond butter and chocolate chips. Combine with a spatula and then with your hands if needed.

 

4. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper. Pour in nut mixture; spread and flatten with your hands.

 

5. Bake at 350 for 22 minutes. Cut into 8 bars or 9 squares. Allow bars to cool before eating.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Breakfast Casserole

I remember the breakfast casserole I grew up on. I'm not going to lie- it tasted amazing. It started with taking white bread and covering both sides with butter. The dish only got more unhealthy from there- jimmy dean sausage, eggs, tons of cheese. Then you let it sit overnight and baked it the next morning. We only had it on special occasions like Christmas morning and I looked forward to it as much as my stocking.

This is my version of breakfast casserole. It still has delicious sausage but is loaded with veggies. I used organic hashbrown potatoes to make it a treat but you could easily leave them out or substitute shredded sweet potato. This casserole saved us last week with the many late nights in the office and fed two people 4 times. I hope you will try it for your next busy week breakfast, family dinner or for a special occasion!

BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Serves: 8

 

1 lb pork sausage or ground pork that you have seasoned to your taste

1 large onion, diced

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 large head broccoli, florets chopped and stem tossed or included (whichever you like)

1 cup shredded carrots

2 cups chopped spinach

1 bag frozen organic hashbrown potatoes (I used Organic Valley- the only ingredient listed is potatoes) (optional)

12 large eggs

1 cup shredded raw cheddar cheese (optional)

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook through, using a spatula to crumble meat as it cooks. Remove sausage to an extra large bowl.

 

2. Add 1 Tbs coconut oil to pan (if there is not enough grease from the sausage to cook the vegetables). Add onion, pepper and broccoli. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add carrots. Cook 2 minutes. Add spinach, stir and cook 1 minute. Remove vegetables from heat and add to the same bowl as the sausage.

 

3. Add eggs to a large bowl. Whisk. Add eggs to the sausage mixture. Add hashbrowns. Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper. Stir.

 

4. Grease a 9x13 pan with coconut oil. Pour egg mixture into pan. Top with cheese.

 

5. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until cooked through. Enjoy for any meal of the day!