Bangkok Chicken Coconut Curry Rice Noodle Bowls

Ingredients:

Coconut Curry Sauce:
1 tablespoon high heat oil ( grape seed oil)
2 shallots,chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced 
2 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 14-ounce can regular coconut milk
½ cup reduced sodium chicken or veggie broth 
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon hot chili paste 
2 1/2  tablespoons fish sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons Tamari soy sauce

For the Bowls:
6 ounces rice noodles 

2 chicken breasts chopped into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon high heat oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1-2  cup chopped broccoli florets
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped asparagus
1 cup shredded purple cabbage

1 zucchini chopped
sesame seeds for topping
limes for serving
a handful of fresh basil for serving ( julienne the basil)

Directions:

1. Noodles: Soak the noodles in a bowl of cold water. Start this right away - they need at least 20 minutes or so of soaking. When they're soft, drain and rinse.
2. Sauce: Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the shallots and ginger; stir fry for 3-5 minutes. Add the curry paste; stir fry for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, sugar, chili paste, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Simmer for 15- 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Continue on simmer until veggies and chicken are cooked.
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add chicken and cook 4-5 minutes until just barely cooked. Add a a few sprinkles of Tamari and fish sauce and toss around chicken. Remove chicken and set aside. Add a but more oil. Add the onion, and cook for 2 minutes. Add carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and asparagus. Stir fry for about 5 minutes until the broccoli and asparagus are bright green. Add the noodles and toss around in the pan with the vegetables. Add back chicken to pan. Add the sauce and toss together until just combined (if you cook it too long at this point, the noodles might get too sticky). Serve topped with the purple cabbage and sesame seeds and a squeeze of lime and basil leaves.

Paleo Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

1 head Cauliflower ( I use yellow Cauliflower)
2 Tb. Grass-fed Butter
½ tsp. Celtic Salt
¼ C. Water
2 T. Grass-fed Butter
1 Small Sweet Onion, diced
½ tsp. Garlic Powder
¾ tsp. Ground Mustard

Cayenne pepper to taste
1 tsp. Celtic Salt
3/4-1 can Coconut Milk

1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
1 Egg Yolk
Pepper, to taste

2 Tb. grated parmesan cheese ( optional depending on diet restrictions) 

2 Tb. grated parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:

Cut the stalks and leaves off of the cauliflower and break it into small pieces. Add the cauliflower to a large sauté pan as well as the 2 T. butter, ½ t. salt, and water. Place on medium/high heat and cover with a lid. Let the cauliflower stead inside the pan for about 5 minutes, until mostly tender. Check the water levels every few minutes to make sure that it doesn’t all evaporate. When almost tender, remove the lid and let the cauliflower sauté for a minute or two, or until lightly caramelized in spots. Turn heat off, cover, and keep warm until ready to toss with the cheese sauce.

Cheese Sauce:
Heat the 2 T. butter in a saucepan over medium/high heat. Add onion, garlic powder, mustard, and salt to the melted butter.
Sauté for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add the can of coconut milk to the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the onion is tender and the coconut milk has reduced by ⅔ and is thick. Add the nutritional yeast, cayenne and additional salt to blender. Pour the onion and coconut milk into a blender and puree until very, very smooth. Immediately add an egg yolk and parmesan cheese to the puree and blend well. The hot puree will cook the egg which will thicken the sauce and give it a rich texture.
Check seasonings and add more salt or pepper to taste.
Pour over the hot cauliflower and toss to coat. I place mixture in oven safe dish and sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top. Place in oven on Hi-Broil until lightly browned,
Serve.

*This sauce is so tasty and can be poured over any veggie or chicken dish. 

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:

2 large Zucchinis
Celtic salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/2-1 Tb. Garlic Powder
1/2-1 Tb. Onion Powder
1 lb. ground beed ( 80/20)
1 small diced green bell pepper
1 diced yellow onion
1 cup tomato paste
1 can (16oz) tomato sauce
1/4 cup red or white wine ( I had white wine opened and used that)
2 Tb. chopped fresh basil ( if you have dried only that works too, just use slightly less)
1 Tb. chopped fresh oregano ( if you have dried only that works too, just use less)
1 egg
1 (15oz) container of low fat ricotta cheese
1 (16oz) packaged frozen chopped spinach. thawed and drained
1 lb. sliced white mushrooms
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
8 oz. grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Slice zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices. I use a vegetable peeler. Sprinkle slices with salt and set aside to drain in a colander.
3. To prepare the meat sauce,  heat up pan to medium heat and add ground beef. Cook and stir for 4-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper for seasoning. Add in green bell pepper and onion and stir in with meat. Add salt and pepper along with a sprinkle of garlic powder and onion powder. Add mushrooms. Once meat is no longer pink add tomato paste and tomato sauce along with wine, oregano, basil. I like to add more seasoning at this point. Use your best judgement. Always taste test as you go along. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer sauce for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. In a mixing bowl stir egg and ricotta with a pinch of salt. Make sure these are mixed well.
5. The zucchini produces a ton of moisture so I like to lay out a towel and lay flat the zucchini slices. I then pat dry with a paper towel.
6. Thaw and drain your spinach. I like to use a paper towel to remove extra liquid

To assemble lasagna:

7. Spread 1/2 of the meat sauce onto the bottom of the pan, then create a layer with the zucchini slices. Next add 1/2 the ricotta mixture, then layer with the spinach, followed by a layer of 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Repeat by layering the remaining sauce, zucchini slices, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella. Sprinkle the top with an even layer of parmesan cheese. Cover with foil.

8. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil; raise temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 15 more minutes. Let stand for 10-20 minutes before serving.

Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Almond Flour a1/2 Cup 1/2 Cup Tapioca flour 1/4 Cup + 1 Tbsp Coconut flour 3/4 tsp. Celtic Salt1 egg

1/4 Cup Olive Oil (I like using garlic olive oil)

1/3 Cup Coconut Milk
1 tsp. Honey

Toppings:
Thinly sliced red and green peppers
Sliced black olives
Sliced white mushrooms
Salami
Broccoli tops (steamed)
Zucchini slices
Sliced red onion
Artichoke hearts
Marinara Sauce (recipe below)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Barbecue sauce
cilantro


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Place the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, and salt in a bowl and mix together.
Make a well the center of the combined flours.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, olive oil, coconut milk, and honey.
Pour the mixture into the well of dry ingredients.
Combine with a rubber spatula, mixture may seem a little wet at first.
Let it sit for a few minutes and the coconut flour will soak up the excess moisture.
Shape the dough into a ball and place on a sheet of parchment paper.
Lightly dust your hands with tapioca flour and press the dough out into a 12" circle. Crust should be thin, about 1/4".
Slide hands underneath the parchment paper and flip the crust over onto a pizza stone or greased baking sheet.
Slowly peel back the parchment paper and discard.
Top the crust with desired sauce and toppings and bake on the bottom rack of the preheated oven.
Bake for 12 minutes to get a crust that is still a bit soft underneath, for a crisper crust bake 15+ minutes.
Remove and slice with a roller cutter.

Marinara Sauce:

1 small mini can of tomato sauce. Add a hefty sprinkle of garlic powder. oregano, basil, and onion powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat. Spoon onto baked pizza crust.

Thai Coconut Curry Soup with Chicken

I absolutely love this recipe, and there is nothing better than a thick and creamy healthy Thai soup on a hot or cold night. Most of these ingredients can be found at your local grocery store, but lime leaves are harder to find, so I opted to leave these out and the recipe still tasted great. Also to clarify what tender cilantro stems are; I took a handful of fresh cilantro with stems intact and threw them into my broth. This recipe is super tasty the next day, just remove noodles from your broth and store them separately so the noodles do not absorb any of the broth. 

Ingredients:

2 cans of premium coconut milk
1 heaping tablespoon of Thai curry paste
The tender stems of 1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed well 
2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 cups of chicken broth
1 carrot, shredded
4 or 5 lime leaves (optional)
2 stalks of lemon grass, halved lengthwise, woody leaves removed
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
Zest and juice of 2 limes
Small knob frozen ginger
2 handfuls of bean sprouts (2 cups or so)
8 ounce package rice noodles or Gluten-free noodles (optional)
1 bunch of cilantro leaves, rinsed well
2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced
Add a sprinkle or two of Celtic salt or Tamari (soy sauce)

Thai curry pastes get their heat from chili peppers, but they’re also loaded with other flavors. You may use as much or as little as you like. Yellow is the mildest; green the hottest. Try stirring in a head of chopped Asian greens or baby spinach with the bean sprouts. You may easily substitute beef or shrimp for the chicken.

Directions:

Scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of just one of the cans into a large stockpot set over a medium-high heat. Melt the cream, add the curry paste and stir for a few minutes until they begin to sizzle.

Add the cilantro roots and chicken and sauté until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Add the coconut juice from the first can and all the contents of the second can along with the chicken broth, carrot, lime leaves, lemon grass, fish sauce and lime zest and juice. Grate the frozen ginger into the broth with a Microplane grater or standard box grater. Simmer for 20 minutes or so.

Stir in the bean sprouts. Add the rice noodles, gently pushing them beneath the surface of the broth. Turn off the heat and let stand until the noodles soften, about 5 minutes. Rice noodles don’t need to simmer like pasta to cook; they simply need to rehydrate in the hot liquid.

Stir in most of the cilantro leaves. Remove the lemon grass stalks. Taste and season with a touch more salt (Tamari or soy sauce) as needed. Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions and remaining cilantro leaves.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I found this awesome recipe for a low carb gluten-free pizza. I tweaked a few seasonings, and added a few toppings, but seriously the best cauliflower crust out there. 

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 small to medium sized head of cauliflower - should yield 2 to 3 cups once processed

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese¼ cup low moisture mozzarella cheese1 egg¼ teaspoon Celtic salt½ teaspoon garlic powder½ teaspoon dry basil ½ teaspoon dry oregano

Toppings:

1 cup marinara sauce (see recipe below)1-2 cups mozzarella cheese

Handful parmesan cheese

Optional:

Thinly sliced red and green peppers
Sliced black olives
Sliced white mushrooms
Salami
Broccoli tops (steamed)
Zucchini slices
Sliced red onion
Artichoke hearts



Marinara Sauce:

1 small mini can of tomato sauce. Add a hefty sprinkle of garlic powder. oregano, basil, and onion powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat. Spoon onto baked pizza crust.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

1. Remove the stems from the cauliflower and cut into chunks, Place the cauliflower into a food processor and pulse it until it resembles the texture of rice. If you don't have a food processor, you can use a cheese grater or chop it very finely.
   
   
2. Microwave the processed cauliflower uncovered in a microwave safe bowl for approximately 4-5 minutes on high. Remove it from the microwave and allow it to cool for at least 4-5 minutes. After the cauliflower is slightly cooled, place it in a kitchen towel and squeeze all the liquid out of it. Be sure to squeeze as much liquid as possible.
   
   
3. Combine the cooked cauliflower, egg, garlic, cheese, and seasonings. Stir until a dough texture forms. Spread the cauliflower mixture out onto lightly greased parchment paper or a pizza pan in the shape of a pizza crust. 
   
   
4. Bake the crust for approximately 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven), or until the crust is golden and crispy. I prefer my crust after 15 minutes. After the crust is golden remove it from the oven and add your toppings. (I always put way too many veggies on my pizza which makes it harder to eat with my hands)
   
   
5. 
   
6. Turn your oven to Broil on High. Place the pizza back in the oven and bake for about 2-5 minutes until the cheese melts. Watch your pizza carefully. You don't want to burn your toppings.