CQ Recipes Pasted
Make your own marshmallows from scratch! (None of that preservative garbage… use the real plant and get some real health benefits).
Marshmallow is a plant that grows in marshes… super wet places. And the plant helps us in a kinda similar setting. Marshmallow tea is amazing for sore throats, heavy coughs, when you are super sniffly and congested. It makes a nice gelly liquid that feels so good and actually helps heal!
Ancient Egyptians used to make marshmallows as a medicine! And you can too.
Marshmallows are a perfect example of a simple home remedy that became industrialized: all its good stuff swapped out to be cheap, convenient, and super UN-healthy. But we can bring it back!
Ingredients
* 1 cup water
* 3 tbsp gelatin (grass fed)
* ½ tsp salt
* ½ cup honey (raw)
* ½ tsp vanilla bean (fresh, paste or powder, but get the REAL stuff!)
* 1 tbsp marshmallow root powder (NOT the extract)
* ½ cup arrowroot powder (just to powder the edges and surfaces to reduce stickiness)
Directions
* Pour ½ cup of warm water into a bowl and add gelatin.
* Bring another ½ cup of water to a boil, adding the salt and honey. Bring to 230°F (use a candy thermometer!)
* Mix the gelatin, and slowly (CAREFULLY) add the hot honey mixture about 10 minutes. Add in the marshmallow root powder, and vanilla bean, and keep mixing until stiff peaks.
* Quickly pour into your prepared (powdered) dish.
* Try not to touch too much once poured because it holds its shape incredibly quickly, and looks much prettier the LESS you mess with it.
* Add arrowroot powder to help from sticking, and flip, and chop!
* Lasts 1-2 weeks in the fridge.
I’ve been dying to find common mallow that isn’t close to the road near me I would love to try khobeiza
Copycat Reese’s PB eggs (sugar free!)
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Soft peanut butter inside chocolate shell, with none of the weird stuff hidden in the store-bought “foods”.
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We made these Sunday evening while watching a movie, and are already ready to make again!
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Ingredients, wet:
1/2 cup nut butter (any nut)
2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
Ingredients, dry:
3 tbsp collagen (optional)
3 tbsp coconut flour
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Outer Chocolate Shell
1 cup chocolate chips (sugar free)
1 tbsp coconut oil
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Directions:
1. Whisk wet ingredients (pb, maple syrup, coconut oil & vanilla)
2. Stir dry (collagen with coconut flour)
3. Form dough into 12x egg shapes
4. If they're too soft to form, add 1 Tbs coconut flour at a time until thick enough. (I needed 2 more)
5. Place in freezer for 15 min to harden
6. Melt coconut oil and chocolate in a small saucepan over the stove on low heat, stirring constantly
7. Dip slightly frozen eggs in chocolate, then back into freezer. Should be ready in 15m!
When having a baby gives you an excuse to make some cookies! Even though totally healthy, they still feeeel indulgent, and super easy to make.
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2 cups rolled oats
1 cup buckwheat flour
3 Tbsp brewers yeast (skip if you aren’t breastfeeding)
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1 egg (or flax egg: 1 Tbs flax plus 3 Tbs water, worked great as a replacement!)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil room temp
5 drops stevia liquid
1/2 cup peanut butter (no added oils)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup carob chips (chocolate replacement bc heaven knows this baby does not need caffeine!)
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
You can also throw a banana in there
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Mix everything together and roll out in parchment paper. You will have to push them down to flatten. Bake at 350 for 9 minutes.
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This ratio makes about 18 balls, but you can also just make one giant cookie, or crumble to make a topping for ice cream!
This oatmeal has become our favorite... dressed up w some fruit and honey. This lasts us about a week.
2 cups organic rolled oats
3/4 cup nuts and/or seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower, chia, sesame plus nuts on hand)
1/8 teaspoon celtic salt� ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
2 Tbs maple syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Mix in large bowl and press down onto sheet lined with parchment paper (helps clump together later). Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Let sit 45 min stove top to cool off and form together, or just eat right away! Simmer some chopped fruit (like apples ) in a pan with tiny bit of nut milk and cinnamon for added bonus!
Nut, dairy, gluten, sugar, egg, worry FREEE pancakes
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I’ve finally found some favorites in my hunt for vegan, flourless, allergen free pancakes: versions with sourdough starters, hazelnut flours, oats or fruits as binders. This one is nice bc the oats replace any flour or nuts, or you can pick the nuts that work for you! It is also nice to be baked rather than fried (saving you some oxidative damage from the overheated oils). These are soft, fluffy, just sweet enough from the banana, stackable, and yummy!
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These make enough for 1 stack of 6 pancakes (for 1 or 2 ppl to share), recipe easily doubled! And only organic ingredients, ESPECIALLY the oats.
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* 1/2 cup oats
* 1 banana
* 1.5 Tbs sunflower seed butter (or any nut butter you love)
* 1.5 Tbs hemp hearts
* 1 Tbs ground flax
* 1/4 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk�
Blend all together, pour onto parchment, and bake at 350 for 12 min.
Banana pancakes! My favorite easy 2 ingredient dish
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You can add all kinds of toppings, but in itself, this is made of 1 egg and half a banana. You can add more eggs to be more like an omelette, or flax seeds and water in place of the eggs. It’s a very forgiving ratio!
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1/2 banana
1 egg (or 1 Tbs flax with 3 Tbs water)
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Topping ideas:
honey or organic maple syrup
sprinkle of your favorite nuts
flax seeds or any other seeds
nut butter, melted
I love to think of food as the base ingredients and finding out what it took to get them to my plate. How we can deconstruct our familiar meals, and combine them in new ways, without any chemicals or preservatives?
2 Ingredient Muffins! They turned out SO FLUFFY and delicious. And made only of coconuts and eggs. I wanted to try out a savory soufflé without sugar... and only with what I had on hand. Using a cupcake mold, these made the perfect warm little biscuits! Loved the subtle coconut flavor in these delicious little muffins.
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coconut oil
coconut milk
coconut flour
egg whites
egg yolks
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I love to think of food as the base ingredients and finding out what it took to get them to my plate. How we can deconstruct our familiar meals, and combine them in new ways, without any chemicals or preservatives?
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* 4 room temp eggs separate (4 egg yolks, and 4 egg whites)
* 1 whole egg (room temp, mixed in w the yolks)
* 3/4 cup coconut milk
* 3 tbsp coconut oil
* 3 tbsp coconut flour
* 1/4 tsp (a pinch) of salt
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1. Preheat oven to 400. You will be baking the dish at 375, but the higher temp is to let some hot air release as you open the door.
2. Break the egg whites and and yolks in separate dishes, and allow to come to room temp while you measure out all other ingredients (mis en plas)
3. Whisk your coconut oil and milk in a small pot on medium low. Once blended together, slowly add in your coconut flour to cook down any grittiness. Let cool down.
4. Once cool, 10 min or so, gently fold in your coconut milk/flour/oil mixture into your egg yolk (plus the 1 whole egg) mixture. Stir until smooth and set aside.
5. Next, beat your egg whites on medium speed until foamy peaks start to form. I use a hand mixer for a couple minutes, until the peaks don’t fall over.
6. Gently fold your warm flour mixture into your egg whites in layers, slowly incorporating all, CAREFUL not to over mix, or to let the egg whites get too hot all at once.
7. Pour batter into baking dish or muffin pan.
8. Bake at 375F for 16 min, checking with a toothpick for doneness. Try not to open the oven until ready.
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What would you serve these with? Breakfast? BBQ dinner? Or maybe just by themselves
First cauli pizza under quarantine. Marinated chicken, creamed spinach and garlicky mushrooms.
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Using what we have in the fridge:
local butchery chicken
neighbor gifted goat cheese
backyard lemons
CSA organic kale, onion & cauli
Homemade cashew cream
Pasture raised eggs
And our last couple cloves of garlic!
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Check out the CQ site for tips on the simple creation that always seems to turn out so beautifully.
Smoothie deconstructed
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A mix of nuts, root veggies, fruits, and most important: lots of greens!
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leafy greens, as many kinds as possible, even if just a couple leaves of each: spinach, kale, collard greens, rainbow chard
carrot
celery
apple
orange
lemon
ginger
beet
macadamia, cashews, Brazil nuts
avocado
coconut cream
frozen wild blueberries or cherries
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I also add in some protein powder, and additional seeds for fiber, like chia, flax, pumpkin seeds, sunflower, sesame. Whatever looks good to me that morning! Oh... and sometimes I let a large batch of herbal tea brew overnight to use as the base in the morning.
Nut & honey rice crispie treats
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It’s actually super easy to make your own tasty sweet treats without any franken sugars or hidden toxins. I made these for a friend, a new momma! a couple weeks ago, and since then made them 3 more times. Replacing the typical marshmallow with your favorite nut butter brings these simple treats to the adult table.
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Play around with toppings to make these your own.
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Ingredients for an 8 in square pan. Melt together:
1 c nut butter (organic sunflower butter super good too!)
1/2 c grass fed butter (1 stick)
1/2 c honey
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For the mixing bowl:
2 c organic puffed rice
pinch of sea salt
Optional: chocolate chips, vanilla, nuts, shredded coconut (pictured above), dried fruit
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Directions:
Melt the nut butter (make your own by soaking in water at least an hour and blending), butter, and honey over medium heat until well combined
In a large bowl, mix the puffed rice, sea salt, NUT MIX (from above), until evenly coated
Transfer to 8in square pan, and put in fridge at least 20 min, or hot off the spoon!
Looking for some healthy, beautiful, easy Thanksgiving dishes (desserts too!)?
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Don’t forget how striking and deliciously simple roasted veggies can be! Check out my Thanksgiving page for some inspiration. I just came up with my shopping list for the week, and realized I don’t need a crazy fancy recipe. If all I can do is run through the produce aisle and stack all the random veggies I can, just roasting them will be delicious. One big pile of roasted garlicky broccoli, or carrots, or onions, or [fill in the blank] would be incredible. Let your inner 5 year old run through the produce aisle picking one veggie of every color and learn what to do w it. :)
There is a reason we adore the rose.
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I took a class on flower essences, and loved the simple stories of why we’ve written so much poetry about them. The rose is undeniably beautiful, but it also holds immense healing power. Just like any essential oil, or coffee or tea, or medicine, or food, we use the essences of plants to do something to us in some way. Why is it healing to our skin to be touched by rose balm? Why do we feel better to drink herbal tea? Here are some notes on just a handful of buds, and their noted powers (spiritual and physical).
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Rose. Can be used to soften and heal skin. In the spiritual realm, a tea or scent can soften and heal emotions. It’s been used to bring sweetness in the heart to allow pain to flow through.
Bleeding heart rose. Used in apothecaries to reopen parts of the heart that are shut down.
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Many plants are noticed to heal or protect something based on how it looks or grows. Some more notes:
Borage. Brings out courage, strength, uplifts, placed on soldier’s uniforms before battle.
Flora of asia. Also Wingthorn rose, for use when struggling a long time. Provides light for dark places. Boosts energy.
Angelica. Angelic realm of spirit. Sometimes we are going through a passage way, only one way through and cant go back. Use Angelica to help connect to something greater than loss.
Arnica. For a hard fall with an emotional impact to sense of self. Used to heal old wounds, when still alive in it, though can’t touch it.
Yulan Magnolia. oldest plant recorded, predates bees. Comes from the Flora of China, didn’t get wiped out w/ice ages bc of protection of mountains over 100M years. Used for a good seating of souls.
Star of Behlehem. For that shock factor of grief/loss
Artemesia. For when that inner 4 year old is having a temper tantrum
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We are surrounded by medicine. Every rock is full of minerals. The air, the water, the sun, the grass are all medicine for something.
My kind of edible bouquet
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Mustard greens: one of the highest nutrient content foods OF ALL FOODS.
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Chard: anything in the cabbage family is so full of good stuff bc it’s harvested late in the year, meaning it’s had more time in the ground to develop its nutrient content. the bitter the better!
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Dandelion leaves: those little “pesky” flowers love to come back, and we need them more than ever.
On to the most important part of my detox: Skin week.
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I realized my skin wouldn’t be an overnight fix. Healing those little internal cells takes 6 months to heal (min), but we can start by building up your body’s resilience. This is AFTER giving up on every dermatologist or facialist advice that gives temporary symptom relief but just leaves you dependent on their product forever.
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After decades of bad foods, harsh chemicals, expensive facials, endless cover up makeup and creams to soothe my face, I realized nothing with a RX would fix my skin. Some cream on my face would not prevent acne on my back. If I stopped taking some product, pill, or procedure, my acne would be worse than before. I was stuck in a never ending 3 month failed experimental rotation.
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The most permanent, healing thing I could do for my skin was to fix it from the inside out. I had to find out what my body was still suffering from, and give it the chance to fully heal. And the best part? People have been doing this for hundreds of years! There IS a protocol for this.
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Your skin is a mirror into your internal health, and is the last thing to heal. You can survive without perfect skin. The skin and liver need a lot of the same nutrients, and if you’re depleted in any of those, your liver gets first dibs.
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Skin problems are red flags begging you to pay attention. We love to kill the messenger by using expensive products to mask the symptoms. Instead, you’ve got to REMOVE the problems. The more effort you put in to avoid chemicals (in food AND products), the less your liver and skin have to remove. They may even get the chance to chip away at that really old stuff stashed away in there.
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Herbs your skin loves:
Chinese violet leaf or wild pansy (+3g daily up to 20g as tea)
Neem leaf (+1g daily up to 7g in capsules)
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Skin saving foods:
Green vegetables (lots of them!!)
Dandelion greens
Aloe Gel (not the leaf, which is laxative)
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Violet has been used for centuries to release toxins, bring down inflammation, and reduce swelling in varicose veins! Neem leaf is used to kill and remove toxins, bacteria, and viruses.
My focus this week will be on cleansing the blood (perfect for Halloween!)
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Blood isn’t technically an organ, but it functions as a super-highway, carrying every nutrient, hormone and toxin in your body.
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You can use natural foods to nourish and cleanse your blood, just like any other system.
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Herbs (starting at 1g):
Turmeric (with heat and oil, +1g per day)
Red clover flower (as tea, 3x per day, +3g each day)
Triphala (continue at comfortable dose, 7g for me)
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Nitrate rich vegetables:
Arugula
Chard
Butter lettuce
Mustard greens
Chinese cabbage
Spinach
Celery
Parsley
Leek
Turnip
Beet & beet greens
Kitchari (quinoa and mung bean)
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Inflammation in the brain is linked to depression (responsible for low mood, lack of appetite, poor sleep...). Studies show ppl with depression have higher levels of inflammation in blood.
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Curcumin (just one of the hundreds of constituents in turmeric) has been studied to learn why it’s so good at bringing down inflammation. We have some guesses, some studies that say it’s good, some ppl separating it out and selling it in its lonesome, but nothing modern is as impressive to me as our great grandparents use of in their recipes for hundreds of years. It always amazes me how people were able to figure this stuff out without billions of dollars of research we now think we need.
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They were just some hungry creatures following their bodies cues.
Kidney Care
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Every minute, your kidneys filter out 1/4 of the blood in your body. They do this every day, for our entire lives. To put that into perspective; imagine a water filter system that ran all day and night, every day, for 70 years - without ever being cleaned or replaced. It gives you some respect for those little bean-shaped organs in your back!
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Kidneys filter out excess fluid and water; dissolvable toxins coming from your liver (that come out as pee). When you block this pathway, waste can end up back in the blood or get stored in the body, leading to all sorts of nasty symptoms: sleepiness, headaches, trouble focusing, muscular weakness, poor sexual stamina, getting sick easily… the list goes on.
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We can help these little guys work their best by feeding them the best fuel (and minimizing things that harm). Nutrients from plant medicines can help support these organs to get rid of all the toxins we don’t want to keep.
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Herbs (1g per day to start)
Dandelion leaf tea (+3g per day up to 20g)
Juniper berry (+1g per day up to 7g)
Triphala (continued with nightly dose as comfortable from previous week)
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Veggies (all organic if at all possible!):
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Cucumber
Asparagus
Parsley
Arugula
Pumpkin
Pineapple
Red fruits
Blue/Purple fruits
Citrus
Almonds
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Greens:
Kale
Mustard greens
Turnip greens
Collard greens
Bok Choy
Brussels sprouts
Kohlrabi
Daikon
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The cruciferous greens are on full display this week, with lots to choose from: kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. These veggies provide sulfur that helps bring down inflammation and clean up any damage made by the toxins we‘re getting rid of.
Eating for your liver
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Your liver does way more than just break down that second martini.
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Chinese medicine calls your liver “the commander” for a reason. Its job is to figure out what’s supposed to stay in your body, direct it to where it’s supposed to go, and eliminate those things that shouldn’t be there.
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Your liver had enough to do when we just ate REAL foods; a thousand things beyond digestion. It breaks down nutrients to make energy, sorts out the byproducts, and puts in overtime to nurse you after that binge and hangover (pushing off its other daily duties). We’ve added all kinds of chemicals, sugar, human-made food-like flavorings that just exhaust and deprive it.
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Here are some herbs and veggies that your liver loves:
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Herbs (1g each to start, up to 7g):
Dandelion root (+1g per day)
Bhumy amalaki (+1g per day)
Triphala (continued with nightly dose as comfortable. 1g is enough for me)
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At least half of plate should always be veggies.
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Liver specific vegetables:
Beet (best liver ally!)
Radish
Carrot
Turnip
Rutabaga
Parsnip
Burdock
Artichoke
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Kitcharee (grain/seed and bean mix) for easy digestion.
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Note: Beets are rich in nitric oxide, which helps blood circulation by soothing the inner lining of the blood vessels. Good blood pressure = healthy stamina
Shopping list for Digestion
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When you’re not digesting your food, unwanted waste gets back into your body. Your body then needs to find some place to store it, and the places it picks are not very convenient to pull back out from. It only takes microscopic amounts to start causing problems. Ideally, we want to heal the gut (by removing the culprits that hurt your tummy) and creating a clear pathway for waste to make its way through (with least damage). An herbal detox like this, with veggies as medicine, helps to naturally boost your whole digestive system, one organ at a time.
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Many detoxes start with the first week as set up: focusing on healing foods, eliminating anything problematic, and building our tolerance to some of the herbs. We also start to learn to listen to our bodies with the dosages, starting slow, and stopping when we notice the cues.
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Shopping list for the week:
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Herbs (1 gram each to start):
Ginger powder (+1g each meal until warm tummy)
Trikatu powder (+1g each meal)
Triphala (+1g nightly, until healthy morning bowel movement)
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Vegetables/Greens:
Fennel bulb
Leek
Onion
Dandelion greens
Mustard greens
Swiss chard
Thyme
Oregano
Chili peppers
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Spices:
Cayenne
Cinnamon
Clove
Mustard seed
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Other:
Pears
Olive Oil or Ghee
Basmati rice (or quinoa or buckwheat)
Small beans (lentils or mung beans)
Lots of water
Sweat
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I’ve picked out some recipes to test out on my site under the Detox Menu. The soups are my favorite!
Challenge yourself with something in 2019 and show up.
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I‘m trying a little herbal detox. I love doing these kinds of things every once in a while, since it stops me from snacking, and I always feel really great after. But this is a new one for me.
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Even though I try to eat super “clean”/healthy/mostly organic, I know I’m taking in more toxins (and def have a build up from my past) than I’ve ever let my body really deal with. And the amount of chemicals around us is ridiculous. Even babies umbilical cords have hundreds of toxins today. Nobody really gets a clean slate anymore.
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I picked a slow, 7 week, herbal detox; basically cutting out any processed food/sugar, (the usual), and adding in specific herbs and veggies each week to clear a pathway for toxins to flow through, starting way deep in the liver all the way to the blood and skin. I also joined a gym with a sauna to help sweat out the metals and everything else.
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I’m also bringing the protein and fats way down, starting each lunch and dinner with a base of neutral whole grains (no flour) and small beans since they are so easy to digest. For someone who is normally keto/paleo, lower fats and protein seems kind of scary, but they are things that are naturally “building” and take a lot of energy to break down. (Your liver uses 20% of your energy as it is!) The goal here is to give that system a little bit of a break so that it can clean out any build up that may be stuck.
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The focus is on alkaline foods (as opposed to acidic), and cooling (rather than warming) spices. It’s a mix of traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic, and more western scientific methodology.
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Each week, I’m diving deeper into (and eating for) each of these systems:
1. Overall digestion
2. Liver
3. Kidney
4. Blood
5. Skin
6. Large intestine
7. Full body
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I’ll share my grocery list and some notes for each week.
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If you want to follow along yourself, the class i am learning from is called the Remedy: Herbal Detox with K.P. Khalsa. I’m just sharing my notes and grocery lists and learning along with you. :)
Our favorite restaurant in Amsterdam
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(We ate here twice in a couple days!)
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On the Menu:
Pumpkin stuffed with spinach, goat cheese and figs⠀⠀⠀⠀
Chicken stewed with apricot and mixed fresh veggies
Italian Spaghetti Squashers
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We wanted to make something to celebrate our first fruiting patio plant. Our first little red tomato!
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The beauty of spaghetti squash is the ability to use any sauce you’d like. Just split the squash in half lengthwise so you have two boats. Sprinkle on some avocado oil (please no canola!), and roast in the oven for about 40 min (flat side down onto the pan so it gets a nice char). While it bakes, heat up the garlic, tomato sauce and sausages, or anything else you want to throw in.
I just bought a sugar-free tomato sauce (my single tomato wasn’t quite enough), some Italian sausages from a store that I trust (no hormones, etc), and threw on some herbs and cheese. You could go for a nut cheese to sprinkle on top, maybe some garlic and mushrooms. The chopping of the squash into two may be the hardest part!
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Pull the squashers out of the oven, break up the little tendrils with a fork, add on the toppings and broil for a couple minutes for this hot, cheesy red mess of a plate. They make for amazing leftovers too, if you have anything left!
I had the biggest chocolate cravings this weekend, and realized i could have these in less than an hour! I even looked at some of the cookies in the local store, but saw the list of ingredients, all the added sugars, all the other things I didn’t want (headache included). These are amazingly decadent, are so easy to make, and I almost always have the ingredients in hand. Being frozen, it’s got a little bit of a bite to it, but the coconut quickly melts and becomes kind of gooey inside.
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1/2 cup MCT or coconut oil
1/2 cup creamy nut butter
1/2 cup cacao powder
2 Tbs sticky sweetener (honey or maple syrup)
Pinch of chunky sea salt on each truffle
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Just melt everything together in a pot, pour into molds (can even use an ice cube tray) & stick it in your freezer. After about an hour you’ll have these amazing truffles!
Crispy oven sweet potato hash!
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The secret to making crispy sweet potato hash is roasting on a hot pan with lots of good fat. I actually cooked the bacon on top of the hash browns to save some time and another dish to clean. And I loved it! Can easily leave out the bacon, and the leftovers taste great.
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Place some parchment on a sheet pan in oven while it preheats to about 430.
Grate the sweet potatoes, one large seemed like plenty!
I noticed a lot of liquid, so I used a cheese cloth to wring out the excess moisture (quite a bit!)
Spread the hash evenly on the parchment, sprinkle some avo oil and salt on top, and mix it up.
Place a cooling rack over the potatoes, and lay out the (organic) bacon
I add a little balsamic vinegar (or honey) on top of the bacon while it cooks. Bake for 15-20 min or so, when the bacon looks done to your liking, and the sweet potatoes look a bit charred around the egdes (that’s how I like it )
While baking, I sauté up some butter, garlic and mixed veggies, and top it off w a fried egg and great sugar free sriracha.
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It was the best!! Not to mention sharing it w the handsome guy setting the table... He was pretty okay w running out to get the bacon last minute when I said I was gonna start making breakfast.
BLT Cauli Crust Pizza with Artichokes and Ghost Pepper Aioli
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This actually came together really easily.
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For many things in life, you have to pay in order to enjoy the rewards. Consider cooking: while putting the effort and time to cook, you are paying the price to sit down and eat and enjoy the rewards. In parallel, it’s like working out, afterwards feeling healthier and fitter, sharper of mind.
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The hack, or trick, is to learn to love the payment. Whether it’s “I enjoyed cooking this meal” or “I loved this run,” you are benefitting on both sides. There’s no work anymore.
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The happiest people don’t know the difference between work and play.
Prepped veggies for the week! This was actually all the veggies I chopped for camping, luckily w a friend who packed a grill. The onions and leek mix went the fastest, good to know they go with pretty much anything. This may need to happen weekly.
Picture here is my Cauli rice mixed w some herbs and broccoli for a beautiful green medley!
My little soufflés.
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I am in love with making souffles on the weekend. It’s like a fluffy version of French toast, and full of ingredients we adore. A bunch of eggs, coconut, berries, butter, and a bit of honey (or syrup), and you have a beautiful little breakfast. The French knew what they were doing with these little dishes. And they are not as hard as people make them seem to be in the movies! I played around a little to see if I could use my muffin tin, and these little souffles felt like a grown up version of a cupcake, ones I’d happily bring to a brunch someday.
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Full recipe linked in bio
Keto Breakfast Bars (w just a teeny bit of honey!)
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Also known as hiking granola (once smooshed)
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Packing for my first backpacking trip, I wanted to make sure we had everything needed for food. I wanted all the nuts, all the energy bars, all the nut butters we could pack in. But, most are kind of expensive, most take up a lot of space individually, and most are packed full of sugar or weird ingredients. So about a month before the trip, I gave myself a task to try out a different bar a week. I quickly found 3 basic kinds of bars that fit my Keto category: ones made of coconut oil (need to be refrigerated), ones baked with eggs (super dense and not as good flavor), ones that were chalky (protein powder based), ones full of keto sugars (basically vegan junk food), until I finally found this one: a tasty, nutty, no fuss simple nut bar resembling my favorite Yes bar!
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Turns out mashing your nuts in a blender is the best way to get rid of excess air (and much needed space) in your backpack. Also super yummy and easy to play with your favorite nuts and seeds in fun varieties. It’s called a breakfast cookie, and it feels that way when you eat them right out of the oven. My “nut cookies” quickly turned into one big granola mix, which I was super happy with (once I got over the fact that they were all smooshed). Our hiked in granola mix was def a fave, and used with our little reusable bags that worked out better than expected. Big deal when you have to hike your own trash out! (Something we could all use a reminder of, our all too easy use of trash!)
Meals at home have become pretty easy.
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Most of ours can be summed up as:
homemade oatmeal w hemp milk
organic farm veggie deliveries
pasture raised meats/bones from butcher
snacks of nuts and seeds and berries and hummus
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I’ve never eaten simpler or healthier in my life! (No vending machine temptations )
What are your favorite go-to recipes on crazy busy days? Broth saves me on those days I get home so late to go straight to bed.
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A few simple, well-established habits (like weekend bone broth making) got me through this week much easier.
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Working out: luckily I was able to sneak in 2 lunch workouts, only by making it a priority, practiced in prior weeks/months/years. Membership right next to office, towel, hairdryer, shoes and shower stuff all ready to go, left in my work locker room.
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Breakfast: When I could, made a habitual smoothie.
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Lunch: little note... I HATE microwaves. I’d rather eat food cold. So I bought myself a little electric single serve sauté pot to leave at work. I bought it as a gift for myself over Christmas, $20 online, and LOVING it! I’ve had 3+ people I don’t know ask if they can just watch me make something. I pick up some pre-chopped veggies at Trader Joe’s, coconut oil, and kale, and cook it down. IT SMELLS SO GOOD. And takes me minutes. Warm, super healthy. Super happy here. Great for days you pretty much stuck inside.
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Dinner: honestly just keeping these super light. I make that broth on the weekends, and freeze in little cubes for easy defrosting! A couple days I grabbed an organic, (super low sugar) nut bar from vending machine, and heated up some bone broth and/or tea for my trek home. I want my digestion to be super efficient on days like this, and want to finish eating around 6, before I head for commute home. If I waited till I got home, I’d literally be eating in bed. That’s basically one of the worst things you could do for sleep.
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Set yourself up for success. If you’ve got some time, learn to make your life easy so you have brain space for those crazy moments that are bound to happen sometimes!
Some things I learned about women’s health on my own nutritional health journey (my own studying):
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Respect the female body, her mind. Love her, be nice to her, support her so she can love and support you back. She creates every human coming into this planet. Female education is something not nearly valued enough. As women, we get that time of the month that can be kind of tough sometimes. It’s ok to be different, our bodies do incredible things!
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Remember, even when your tummy may be aching, cramps set in, moods change and your energy may shift, that just getting a period means your body is working properly. But there are some things you can do to manage the symptoms once a month.
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Mental support:
Celebrate! Many women struggle with getting their period at all, are too stressed or have something else wrong. So first, be grateful for functioning hormones, since they do a lot more for you in your daily lives, including make you feel joy, energy, digest food, build your physique, and help you sleep. They also help your brain to function properly.
Don’t stress if you don’t have a normal period. It just takes a bit of healthy diet and less stress to get your body back. If really abnormal, you can use that as a sign to get to a naturopathic doctor and check it out. It is your first red flag that something could be wrong (a sign men do not get).
Find out what a normal period is. Learn about your cycle and hormones, and what affects them.
Minimize exposure to toxins (and products with lots of man-made fragrances and chemicals)
Go to bed an hour earlier if you can.
Stress prevents your body from functioning normally. It actually suppresses a woman's ability to have babies, which messes with so many other things by changing your hormones. Your body is constantly listening to you, taking signals from your reactions, queues from the foods you are eating. So let it know it is safe, that it is in an environment of abundant good food (not in a food desert that many of us choose to live in with our forks). It is safe, it is comfy, it is loved.
Nutritional support for that time of the month (and all month long)! Continued from previous post.
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Cleaning up your diet is step 1. Sugar, refined carbs, and cheap oils (like canola) make pains worse. Eat lots of leafy greens, colorful veggies, healthy fats (like avocado oil, coconut milk), and good sources of protein (not too much, go for quality over quantity).
Try eating Brazil nuts the week before your period for pain.
Try seed cycling to support healthy hormone development (eat pumpkin and flax seeds in the first two weeks starting with first day of your period, and sesame and sunflower seeds in the last 2 weeks). 1 tablespoon of each per day.
Try omega 3 fish oils in the first 2 weeks of your cycle, and prim rose oil in the second half.
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Fun stuff:
Tips from female CEO’s: Be strategic. If you have to schedule a big meeting or presentation, see if you can book it during the time of the month you know you feel your best. Try to book vacations when convenient for your body.
Use this time as a reminder to relax. Get a massage (hey guys!), go to a sauna, take an Epsom salt bath, drink some herbal teas.
Try out some essential oils with frankincense and lavender, anything that smells good to you in those few days. Your senses are smarter than you think.
Give yourself space when needed. Follow your body’s rhythm. If you have lots of energy, use it. If you feel depleted, lean into something easier on you. Try some of the more creative work that you put off the rest of the month. Maybe some writing, photography, reading, learning, gardening.
Try some light yoga, go for a walk, or just stay comfy under a blanket.
If you can take a sick day, take it. I hardly ever get sick, and am allowed a sick day a month, so sometimes use it if i feel depleted.
Get some sunlight, breath in some fresh air. Allow yourself to be human.
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Taking care of yourself is critical for a happy brain and body. Be nice to yourself and those around you. Be grateful for the things you have (you supposedly can’t be grateful and angry at the same time). It just feels better too!
Eating well is easy! Food can taste good and make you feel good. This is my advice (based on lots of lifestyle cookbooks), years of steady results (weight loss, health, and mental clarity), and after a lifetime of confusion!
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Eat lots of leafy greens (1-2c per day)
Colorful veggies (2 diff colors per day)
Healthy fats (like nuts, avocado oil, coconut milk, olive oil, ghee or butter)
Good sources of protein (not too much, go for quality over quantity)
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Avoid: Sugar, refined carbs, and cheap oils (like canola, especially fried foods). If you do partake, just have a bite, and surround it w greens all day. Support your body so it can deal w removing it easier.
Also important:
10 min of sunlight first thing in the morning (to have best sleep at night)
10k steps per day, walk to bus or lunch walk
Some form of play 2+ times per week (yoga, running, tennis, etc)
No phone or screens 1 hour before bed
One visit to a park per month (minimum)
Your first attempt at cauli crust may be a disaster, but your 1000th will be amazing.
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Your 1st blog post will be bad, but your 1000th will be great.
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Your 1st workout will be weak, but your 1000th will be strong.
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Your 1st meditation will be scattered, but your 1000th will be focused.
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Put in your reps.
If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. -Carl Sagan
To a worm, the apple is the universe.
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Weekend berry soufflé from “scratch”. Been making this dish almost every weekend now, and every time gets a little bit easier.
Spiced Candied Walnuts
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your favorite nuts
coconut oil or olive oil
coconut milk and coconut sugar if desired
cinnamon
cayenne pepper
nutmeg
sea salt
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Toss to coat, bake at 350 on parchment lined baking pan for a total of 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and fragrant.
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Almost too good!!
Real food is simple, and delicious! Find a good food list, the ones with most nutrients per calorie, and circle all the foods you love. That is your grocery list. Doctors and nutritionists have studied this to find the most nutrient dense foods, all you have to do is pick your faves you already love, and try some new ones when you’re ready.
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The ANDI scale was created by doctors to rank popular foods based on their macronutrient density.
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More of these you eat, the more satisfied you will feel with less calories. Fill up on these, then add in some good protein, good fats. But you won’t need much!
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These topped the list:
Kale (1000, top score possible)
Collard Greens 1000
Mustard Greens 1000
Watercress 1000
Swiss Chard 895
Bok Choy 865
Spinach 707
Arugula 604
Romaine 510
Brussels Sprouts 490
Carrots 458
Cabbage 434
Broccoli 340
Cauliflower 315
I’ve been excited to make some Thai Tom Kha coconut soup, and rather than getting all the “right” ingredients, used what I had in my fridge. Using a can of coconut, some leftover veggies, bone broth ice cubes, and whatever other veggies I had, made this super yummy soup easily in about the time it took to defrost the fish!
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Frozen halibut (defrosted for half hour in cold water), sautéed in butter and minced ginger and garlic
Carrots, green onion, a tiny bit of red chili paste to finish the container, some green chili paste, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, frozen bone broth cubes, a few dashes fish sauce, basil, lime
Coconut milk
Leftovers of: cooked small red potatoes, cabbageCauli rice
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The frozen bone broth adds so much intense flavor, having it ready to go saves you hours of simmering during the week.
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Food tip. Chop everything right at the start so you’re not scrambling as the heat is going and stuff is burning. Your life will be less calm if you have everything ready before you start. Recipe (and original) posted on CQ! Link in bio
watermelon slushie!
frzen watermelon grated.
There’s nothing in my fridge!
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I had one of those a moments last night. But I was also determined to not go to the store once I got home and had my comfy clothes on.
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Turns out I had enough to still make this! First try of @califlourfoods red pepper frozen pizza crust, and I’m in love! I still favor making my own, but no doubt there are moments we all need some help.
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Simple ingredient list includes: Cauli, mozzarella, eggs, and basic seasoning.
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I added the last bits of salad, pine nuts, leftover sauce hiding away, and a baggy of mixed mushrooms (a beautiful gift ) from the farmers market. I was so happy.
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Oh, I also grabbed a warm cup of bone broth made over the weekend. Turns out we had some amazing things to work with!
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This is what the start to every meal should look like.
I didn’t learn to cook veggies until into my 30’s. I didn’t realize how easy it was!
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To cook basically any veggie, chop them to the same size (to cook evenly), add some avocado oil, garlic and salt, and voila. Maybe add a piece of healthy protein to the baking dish (or sauté pan stove top). 75% of plate should be veggies. No counting calories needed. Natural foods allow us to express our full versions of health, allow the body to heal itself. Real food is our natural medicine.
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My mom would cook almost everything from scratch, and never allowed us to eat out of a can. She hated the taste of store bought foods. She grew up on a small farm in Croatia, and mostly did not like American convenience foods. But I did not bring those habits to college. I considered “eat your veggies” to be something to roll my eyes at. I was healthy (or so I thought bc I was skinny and never got sick). I could work off any excess weight (obvs genes right? Wrong.) I assumed I was fine. In fact, many people hide their bad health under fit bodies. Maybe they do have amazing genes, maybe they were fed great foods growing up, but nobody can rely on that forever with a terrible diet.
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We need phytonutrients from plants to slow down everyday oxidation reactions that cause aging (and wrinkles). That is unavoidable. But we can slow down the process. Instead, in our American culture, we starve ourselves of veggies, the custodians and little repair guys. Then we add in our toxic foods like sugar and canola oil that speed up those oxidation reactions, causing inflammation and pain. The cheap foods quickly deliver more of those aging free radicals (Tasmanian devils rather than nutrients) inside our cells. The way to hold them back? The phytonutrients in veggies slow down that damage. If we can remove the bad guys, great. But if you have a hard time giving up the addicting bad foods, combat their control every time you eat the bad (“food” or alcohol). Each time you grab a bad food, grab a handful of greens too! That would be an amazing first step. Arm your tummy with greens.
This place was out for my heart...
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Golden turmeric latte
Green smoothie (lots of good greens and low sugar)
Buddha bowl with hummus, beets, seeds, veggies (avo and carrots and greens), and a good sauce
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With a cool little hut to hide away from the sun just down the street from a beach.... not a whole lot more this woman can as for
Peanut and Chile de Arbol Salsa
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We found a local farmers market in Mexico, and must have sampled 20 different kinds of these homemade varieties, every color and flavor I could imagine. One of my faves used 6 different kinds of chili’s! This one stuck out to me as especially stunning, and wanted to add to my kitchen arsenal.
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Ingredients to make:
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5 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cups skinned raw peanuts
6 chiles de Arbol, stemmed, seeded and broken into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tbsp raw sesame seed (Toasted)
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
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Enjoy!
Sandwich idea! Keto and gluten free. Just use a Cauli crust pizza and fill in on some great ingredients... roasted red pepper salsa, pesto, grilled onions and mushrooms, sauerkraut, whatever you have on hand!
One of my favorite travel hacks is to get some of the amazing street tacos “sin tortilla”. And if they look at you funny, just take the taco to go and make a salad or breakfast scramble with the meat and veggies.
Keto Coconut Cheese Soufflé
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I made a soufflé! And it was just as fluffy, cheesy, airy as it was hoping for . I was told for Valentines day, whatever you do, keep it simple, don’t try a souffle!
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So of course... I had to try it. And while I do understand the sentiment of “keep it simple”, don’t stress yourself out kind of advice, it can’t be sooo hard, right?
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I followed all tips and instructions to keep everything clean, ready to go, having the egg whites at room temp, watching the Julia Child Video a couple times before starting. I had my souffle dish, foil lined lined cap ready (so it doesn’t spill over the edges while fluffing), clean supplies and all ingredients measured out before starting.
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Biggest change to the original recipe was using a different flour. Cassava is usually my baking go to, but I must have run out, and had some coconut flour left over. Coconut has tons of fiber, gluten free, low carb, great for those Keto lovers. Before I folded in the egg whites, I noticed the liquid was a bit thinner than the video, so I kept adding more coconut flour until it reached the same consistency, which ended up being double the amount of regular flour. There was a hint of coconut flavor in the dish, but I liked it.
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The other thing that could be adapted was the kind of milk used. I used raw whole milk, after hearing the benefits over pasteurized milk. I usually prefer using nut milks over the dairy stuff, but since this is baking and based on science, I only wanted to change one thing at a time, and I was more interested in swapping the flour to coconut. Next time, ill try using different nut milks!
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Moral of the story, it really wasn’t so hard as people make it out to be. And it feels great when it works out. Full recipe posted on the CQ site linked.
Salads can be easy, fun and exciting too. They don’t have to be straight up lettuce and dressing. You can add nuts, cheeses, vinaigrettes, herbs, fruits and veggies to make it a delicious beautiful meal.
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Many of the healthiest 100 years old people eat (mostly) plant diet. These communities are all over the world, from California to Japan, and eat different diets, but one commonality is they eat 90% of their food from natural plants, not 5%, like most Americans.
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Can you try to eat at least one handful of green things everyday, along with at least 1 of a different color? Kale, broccoli and spinach may all be green, but they all have very different phytonutrients. Work up to 27 different kinds of veggies every week. Start by trying 27 in a month (one new veggie per day). There’s a lot more out there than button mushrooms, ice burg lettuce and canned tomatoes.
Cauliflower quiche! Favorite weekend brunch. And super easy to make! Full recipe on cauliqueen.com
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Bake your crust at 450 (minced cauli, 2 eggs , Parmesan , garlic, salt, pepper, oregano ). Then pour on 4 more eggs and fave toppings, bake another 30 min
Every time you make stock, fill an ice cube tray (or two) full for little cubes ready to go. This makes it super easy to incorporate little bits of stock in any dish: easy weeknight soups, stir fries, or even just for a nice warm cup of broth.
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We discussed all the health benefits of bone stock a few posts earlier. So how much could something this amazing cost? To make a whole stock pot full of arguably one of the most healthy (and tasty) things you could make as a human? Only about $15 for the whole batch.
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And that is using 2-4 lbs of REALLY GOOD, clean, hormone free animal bones. No excuses here. You could skimp on some cheaper bones, but the pasture raised (happy animals) are far healthier- and you are building your foundation to the “i only eat real food that is good for me” human diet.
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Even those bison bones from South Dakota, pasture raised, restoring the prairies all natural etc etc, the ones you can use a spoon to scoop out the bone marrow when you’re done, only cost about $10 for a 3 lb package, shipped to your door.
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An alternative is wild fed pasture raised chicken feet to make chicken stock. But again- quality matters. I found a local butcher in SF that restocks every week, so I know what day to go in to get my bones. Chicken stock only takes about 4 hours, while the bigger animal bones take more like 1-2 days.
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Bison bone broth! (And some serious marrow after 48 hours cooking)
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Our bodies know how to gain extraordinary nourishment from bone broth thanks to our ancestors, who defeated extinction by scavenging for bones left behind by the apex predators of the past. One such nutrient you’ve probably heard of is Collagen.
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Collagen is important to bones, joints, skin, and literally every organ in your body. Collagen strength helps you avoid developing wrinkles, arthritis and even circulatory problems. One of the best ways to improve collagen is to eat some. Bone broth floods your bloodstream with molecules called glycosaminoglycans, which head directly to parts of the body that need collagen the most.
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Broth can also smooth lumpy collagen like cellulite. Irregular cellulite forms where there’s lack of adequate connective tissue struts to support a smooth shape. To get rid of cellulite, combine exercise w a diet full of healthy fats and collagen rich stocks.
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But be cautious where you get your broth. Any animal product should be pasture raised and fed varied, organic diets.
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I’ve been trying different meats and so far bison is my favorite for the bone marrow, but I like using pork pot roast best for meat. Chicken feet stock is easily available so good to keep in rotation too!
Planning a good lunch is one of the easiest ways to shift to a healthier human diet. My friend asked me to find an alternate to his daily staple- a simple sandwich.
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While I love making my Cauli crust from scratch, if I wanted something simple enough to make daily, the pre-made frozen one from Trader Joe’s is an easy staple. I was finally convinced to try one. I will always prefer homemade, but any Cauli is better than no Cauli.
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And instead of that lunch meat (bc sodium and preservatives), you can replace with:
mushrooms (super meaty and filling, I love cooking down w butter, onion and garlic)
zucchini/eggplant/sweet potato
and if you really want meat, go for something slow cooked and organic- thin sliced chicken, pulled pork, (preferably cooked on the bone!)
sunny side up egg
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Add in some greens:
kale/Spinach/arugula (deep greens)
micro greens (I think these are kinda cute)
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Play around w some sauces:
cheese (or swap w spicy cashew cheese, recipe on site)
pesto
garlic lemon aioli
avocado mayo
fun stuff in the store like roasted red pepper, white cheddar kale, etc
kimchi or sauerkraut for a twist and fermentation to make your gut happy
Cauli rice made while waiting for Thai takeout. Heathy food can be easy too! Every meal does not have to be a masterpiece, we just need to get back to knowing what we eat. Best part? It’s really freaking good.
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My favorite meals are super simple. Put on some music, turn the oven to 400, chop some veggies, sprinkle w a good avocado oil and salt, and roast until the color I want.
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I make a big batch of Cauli rice and use it for the next few days just as anyone would with nutrient void white rice, or arsenic lined brown rice. I don’t have to worry about the extra things added to grains and can still enjoy the amazing foods around me.
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Good food is just as easy as ordering a pizza- only you feel great afterwords. Your night can keep going and you feel good In the morning too! Don’t think your body can’t tell the difference.
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You can tell by the mental clarity you now have, and the LACK of a nagging tummy ache, bloating, consolation or acid reflux. All of these are warning signs from your body that it doesn’t like what’s happening. The bad food causes a bunch of reactions- the worst being chronic inflammation to fix what’s been done, or the surge of hormones to combat the sugar now constantly in your system. All of that causes fatigue in your body until it finally just does not work properly.
Green Minestrone Soup
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Made a big pot of this last night- a favorite recipe with tons of deep dark #greens. I found it years ago trying out the meal delivery service Plated, no idea that it would be this good. Full recipe posted on the site!
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Leeks
Escarole
Asparagus
Chives
White beans
Pearl onions
Vegetable stock
Peas
Parmesan
Pesto
Olive oil
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Preheat oven to 375. Trim and prep veggies. Heat oil and sauté onions, leeks and asparagus.
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Add veggie broth, beans and bring to a boil. Simmer for 6 min, then add peas and escarole and cook 2 more min.
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Place Parmesan into 4 small piles, and bake about 8 min.
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Add pesto and chives, salt and pepper. Enjoy the soup with Parmesan crisps on the side.
Rosemary Roasted Cashews
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Perfect around the holidays! And super simple...
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cashews
fresh rosemary leaves
cayenne
himalayan salt
butter
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1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
2. Place the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, pepper, sprinkle of coconut sugar (optional), salt and butter in a large bowl. Toss the warm nuts with the rosemary mixture until the nuts are completely coated. Serve warm.
What if you knew how to use food to upgrade your body?
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Most of us have something we’d want to change about the way we look or feel, a health problem we’d like to be free of. Maybe a sleeping problem, acne, eczema, something you had no idea could be connected to food?
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Our genes make their day-to-day decisions based on chemical information from the food we eat. That information is encoded in our food and carried from that food item’s original source. That source is pulling all kinds of information from its own environment, any nutrients in the soil, weather conditions, toxins, pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizer and natural offerings. What kind of signals are encoded in food created in a lab?
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What do you think your food is saying to the cells in your body?
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What nutrients is your body pulling from that cereal, pizza, fries, protein bar and cookie? (or whatever your pick is from the typical American diet?)
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I used to tell myself the dairy, carbs and meat were all part of the food pyramid so I was fine to eat that pizza (for almost every dinner), that cereal (for every breakfast from child to grown adult), and that protein bar (when my body was crying for energy, let’s face it, every day). These treats have become our whole diet, even for people who know better- it’s just too easy!
All I know is- my body feels great after pizza like this, (no nagging pains or upset tummy, food coma, etc. It’s amazing to feel NOTHING after good food, except satisfaction). This pizza is made of cauliflower, red and orange bell peppers, [no sugar added] tomato sauce, and sprinkling of Parmesan. And even better- I feel full and don’t need to snack between meals. That is a total game changer for me.
Triple mushroom morning!
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Basically my favorite base to any dish, a mix of garlic, mushrooms, and veggies:
Portabella
Cremini
Lion’s mane
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Did you know mushrooms are closer (structurally) to humans in their DNA than any other living creature?
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And that they are one of the oldest living things still in existence from even dinosaur age?
Cauli pizza in the making!
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minced cauli
2-3 eggs (pending size)
parmesan
garlic/salt/pepper/cayenne
oregano/herbs on hand
grilled onion (if I’m feeling like it!)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Bake at 450 until crust is nicely browned. (About 20 min).
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While baking, I sauté some garlic and additional veggie toppings to add. (Using avocado oil or butter).
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Once crust is ready, you should be able to easily pick it up from the parchment paper. Add sauce and toppings, and bake 5-10 more min.
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Real nutrition tastes good.
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Food should not give you a headache, brain fog, heartburn, bloating (or much worse). This happens when neurotransmitters in your brain become fried with hazardous molecules wreaking havoc inside of you. While every body is different and has different intolerances, sugar and over-oxidized veggie oils, along w added toxins and preservatives are nobody’s friend.
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We do a lot for temporary mouth pleasure. Would you like to poison your body, or temporarily, physically elevate beyond that and make good choices of what you put in your body?
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Break away from the constant temptations by trying to see foods for what they are. We are obsessed with the short-term wins from easy pleasure (hormonal and chemical reactions that are expecting nutrients and getting poison), not realizing the net long-term losses of health. We can turn this to a win-win if we learn to enjoy naturally occurring foods again (as our ancestors once did). We need to reset our palettes and treat ourselves better.
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One example of such pizza is shown here. I’ve learned the basics of making cauli crust, so on my hard days, I can grill up some veggies, grab a sauce, and my body goes to work without thinking about it.
Best way to stay healthy on the go? Find a local market you love. Proud of our little bounty of groceries, especially some:
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juevos (you know they are organic when all diff sizes and colors!)
herbed butter
lechuga
aquacates
salsa
chilis
grilled cactus
agua mineral
local olive oil
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Of course you need to do some exploring! We picked up a few inspirational dishes, including a recipe to our favorite salsa verde posted! Some other ideas to attempt at home: gringas al pastor, pazole, simple grilled veggies over salad, and mazapan sin azucar in the testing process! #viaorganica
Lovely breakfast in Mexico! We are good at avoiding the blatantly heavy things like breads and overly sweet stuff, but gave in to a few tortillas drenched in fresh queso and salsa
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Juevos
Tomates
Frijoles
Tortillas
Onions y queso
Salsa verde
️Cafe (con M’s fatty coffee mix)
Cactus
Possibly some other items I couldn’t translate! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
️Fatty Cafe mix includes lil travel container of these things:
Cloves
Turmeric
Vanilla bean powder
Collagen
MCT powder
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(excited to find all these things in powder form before we left). Then just drop a tablespoon or so in morning coffee. If we could find some organic butter, that would be in there too
Cauliflower quiche! Favorite weekend brunch. And super easy to make! Full recipe on cauliqueen.com ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Bake your crust at 450 (minced cauli, 2 eggs , Parmesan , garlic, salt, pepper, oregano ). Then pour on 4 more eggs and fave toppings, bake another 30 min
Weekend favorite: fluffy homemade cauliflower quiche! (Full recipe notes @ cauliqueen.com)
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Eggs
Mushroom
Avocado
Salsa
Parmesan
Crushed red pepper
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Perfect Sunday morning breakfast. I love this morning tradition when I have the lovely luxury of time. I even got the whole thing down to about an hour and a half (admittedly 2 hours plus last time...). Increasing oven temp to 450 to bake the crust with eggs, etc (skipping the cauli by itself first). Then sautéed some veggies in garlic, and poured the egg veggie dish for another half hour or so at 400. The higher oven temp saved a lot of time w no detriment.
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Also noting that you don’t need any fancier ingredients. We’ve added fancy suasages and cheeses, but simple good quality eggs, veggies, garlic and sprinkle of Parmesan are as nice as it needs to get. Some cheeses could be fun, but meat in the quiche makes the leftovers suspect for me. But feel free to experiment and let me know your favorite additions! #cauliflower #caulicrust #cauliflowercrust #brunch ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
When you come home from a super long day and your favorite person makes you something amazing . Healthy food doesn’t have to be hard. Just have to train yourself to have some healthier go-to’s. For us, our lazy night faves include heating up some veggies and using a bed of greens as a base.
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Sautéed Cauli and Broccolini
Roasted garlic
Cashews
Mixed greens
Sesame avo dressing
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#cookwithrealfood #keepitsimple #worksmarternotharder
So fluffy. I love this stuff for being such a simple alternative to any kind of filler easily available. Let’s get back to basics. #simplenatural #cauliflower #redefinehealthy #foodsasmedicine
Golden Milk Smoothie my newest favorite smoothie thanks to some fresh goodies
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1 c cashew milk
1/4 c coconut milk (full fat)
1 scoop bone broth protein powder
1 Tbs collagen
couple dashes turmeric
1 Tbs Chia seeds
1 Tbs flax
1 Tbs fiber
bee pollen for garnish
Breakfast bowls with a surprise... cauli cakes! (fried cauliflower *hashbrowns*)
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I know I know... how can we cook #fried foods and still be healthy?
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Turns out there are ways to enjoy these foods in moderation. While cheap veggie oils actually are bad for your health, there are good oils that stand up to the heat.
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The best are:
Coconut oil
Butter and ghee (for pan frying)
Virgin Olive oil
Avocado oil
Macadamia nut oil
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Truth is, high heat kills offs some vitamins. BUT Frying food may not be sooooo bad for you, if you choose the right oils, and if done in moderation. Surround it with some other good foods if you are feeling a bit too #rebellious. #keto
The best dishes start with fresh ingredients.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A good of veggies (with garlic, butter, herbs and spices) are not only super delicious but should be what makes up 75% of all our meals. An insane amount of problems (mental and physical) could be solved if we followed this protocol. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
My dishes for this week (and on the site!):
spinach gratin
sea bass with sweet potato fries
smoked trout deviled eggs
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The weekly’s are the recipes I will tackle, adjusted to fit my diet. These are the recipes I plan to make when I get home, super tired and in need of a plan. And only the good ones stay to my favorites: the ones I’d make over and over again, marked up w what I swapped out. #keto #paleo #eatwithpurpose #eatwithpleasurenotwithguilt
Gluten free GAME DAY cheesy cauli pokey sticks! No bread, all cauli base. Adult version of favorite college late night order! And super easy to make:
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Bake crust at 450 (minced cauli, 2 eggs , Parmesan , garlic, salt, pepper, oregano ). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Brown crust nicely, then spread melted garlic butter over the top, and sprinkle with more cheese! I used a parm/reggiano 6 blend mix, but feel free to use vegan cheese, mozzarella, whatever! Turn on broiler to high, and melt for 5 min or so. Use fave dipping sauce (marinara, ranch, etc ) ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#gamedaysnacks #footballbites #guiltfree #vice #guiltypleasure #healthyalternatives #allgone #eatthisnotthat #cheesy #fuelyourmind #healthymind #selflove #wellnessblogger #healthylifestyle #realfood #holisticnutrition #health #healthymindset #nutrition #summer #eatclean #wellnesswarrior #bodypositive #excercise #mindbodygram #inspo #glutenfree #vegetarian #paleo #keto
The secret to cauliflower rice.... it’s actually super simple! Just use a blender with water, squeeze out moisture, and bake at 400 for 5-10 min until brown. Swap out regular rice, add crunch to any bowl, or bake with eggs and toppings for pizza! @vitamix
When you offer dinner options... pizza or xxx, PIZZAAAAAAA typically wins ;) Pulling together all my best tips... yummy, hold in your hand, healthy, glorious cauli crust. We have pizza night 1-2x a week