Recipes

Simple Bread Pudding Recipe

Recipes, Uncategorized

Ok friends, I’m on a “what to do with your leftover food that’s about to go bad” kick! This week I’m tackling that stale bread that’s been sitting in the kitchen with no place to go. Enter: delicious bread pudding. Here’s a recipe I frankensteined together from a few classics (links below). This recipe is simple, quick and delicious. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS: 

1/2 loaf stale bread (Italian, challah, brioche, etc)

2 cups milk (I use whole milk, but you can use any variation)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

4 beaten eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Ingredients for the sauce (optional):

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 egg beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup brandy

bread pudding in the making

Let the pouring begin!

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease a 9-inch pan.
  3. Cut the bread into cubes and disperse evenly in the baking pan.
  4. MIX together the granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, eggs and milk in a bowl. Add vanilla.  Pour over your cubed bread and let it sit for 10 minutes.
  5. In another bowl, MIX the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, butter and pecans (it should look like a crumble).
  6. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the custard is set (it should still be a little wobbly, but the edges should be brown).
  7. Remove from the oven.

Directions for the sauce:

  1. MIX together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, egg and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir together until sugar is melted. Add the brandy and stir well.
  2. Pour over the bread pudding.
  3. Eat it like no one is watching.
bread pudding 3

Dude, it’s delicious.

This recipe is the love child of  Paula Deen & NY Times Cooking Section

Healthy Banana Bread Recipe

Recipes, Uncategorized

Need something to do with those bananas that have pretty much gone bad? Well, look no further! This quick, easy and healthy recipe is your answer. I was skeptical at first because banana bread is hard to master, but I promise this one is worth it. Enjoy!

 

Prep time:  10 minutes / Cook time:  55 minutes / Total time:  1 hour 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup honey or maple syrup

2 eggs

1 cup mashed bananas (about 2½ medium or 2 large bananas)

¼ cup milk of choice or water

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more to swirl on top

1¾ cups whole wheat flour or coconut flour

Optional: ½ cup mix-ins like chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, raisins, chopped dried fruit, fresh banana slices, Nutella, etc. Go crazy!

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5-inch baking pan.
  2. Melt your OIL (either coconut or EVOO)
  3. MIX: In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and honey.
  4. Add the eggs and beat well, then whisk in the mashed bananas and milk.
  5. Add the baking soda, vanilla, salt and cinnamon, and whisk to blend.
  6. Add the flour (it might be lumpy and that’s ok!)
  7. Add any of your optional mix-ins.
  8. Pour the batter into your greased pan.
  9. BAKE: for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Due to differing oven temperatures, times will vary. Mine was done in 45 minutes.
  10. Let the bread cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes. Then eat up!
banana bread 1.jpg

Yummy yummy in your tummy

 

Gluten Free, No Bake Cheesecake Recipe

Recipes

Long time no see, my friends! As a welcome back, I’m sharing this super duper easy gluten free, no bake cheesecake that I Frankenstein’d together. Since so many people are gluten free these days, I figured it was time to make the sweet stuff accessible to everyone so I don’t feel like a cow consuming all of it by myself we can all enjoy the sweet life together! Hope you like it:

INGREDIENTS:

For the Crust: 

2 cups almond meal

4 TBSP butter

2 TBSP brown sugar

For the Filling:

2 8oz. packages cream cheese

1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS: 

For the crust:

1. In a bowl, combine the almond meal, butter and brown sugar. Stir well until combined.

2. Press the crumb mixture into a 9-inch dish. Don’t forget to press up along the sides, too.

3. Place in the fridge while you make the filling.

For the filling: 

1. With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Slowly fold in the sweetened condensed milk, followed by the lemon juice and vanilla. Beat everything until smooth.

2. Pour the filling into the crust. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

3. Because this is a basic cheesecake, you can add toppings of your choice. I am Argentinean, so my go-to is dulce de leche. I drizzled this one with a little dulce de leche and pecans. I also made a basic one (featured in the image above).

Dulce De Leche + Pecans

Dulce De Leche + Pecans

Raw Almond Joy Bars (Paleo, Vegan)

Recipes

Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don’t. Almond Joy’s got nuts. Mounds don’t. But, who cares about Mounds because Almond Joys are where its at. Truth: I would weight 9million pounds if I satisfied my craving for Almond Joys every time I had one. Plus, I believe that what we eat strongly affects our energy, our mood and our health. So, I’m in a standoff with myself. Can I make a delicious treat and eat it too? The answer is: YES! Enter, this super recipe. Mind. Blown. It’s everything we love about sweet treats, but, more importantly, every ingredient nourishes your body. Enjoy!

NO-BAKE ALMOND JOY BARS (VEGAN, PALEO)
Serves: 15
INGREDIENTS
Crust:
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil (I use this)
  • ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
  • Pinch of salt
Coconut Filling:
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I use this)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon water
Chocolate Topping:
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup (at room temperature)
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper and set it aside. To prepare the crust, combine the almond meal, maple syrup, coconut oil, almond extract, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir well until a sticky dough is formed. Press it evenly into the bottom of the lined loaf pan, and set aside.
  2. To prepare the coconut filling, combine all of the filling ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir well. Spread the coconut mixture over the crust, then use a spatula to smooth the top. Set aside.
  3. To prepare the chocolate topping, combine all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl and use a whisk to create a silky smooth chocolate sauce. Pour the chocolate sauce over the top of the coconut layer and smooth the top with a spatula. Place the pan in the freezer for one to two hours (or until firm).
  4. Pull on the parchment paper to remove the solid bar from the pan, then slice into bars and serve directly from the freezer. These bars will soften fairly quickly if left at room temperature, so them chilled until you are ready to stuff your face serve your guests.
vegan-almond-joy5
Recipe Cred: The Detoxinista 

Paleo Stuffed Peppers

Healthy Meals, Recipes
This was an ol’ staple growing up. My mom used rice & ground beef, but I’m using cauliflower and ground turkey, instead. Heads up, this is not a quick meal (I will post lots of those), but it is delicious.
Ingredients:

3 Large Bell Peppers

4 Cups Raw Cauliflower
1LB. Ground Turkey
Olive Oil
4 Cloves of Garlic
1 Onion
Mushrooms (as many as you want. I personally love them, so I use a lot)
1/2 Can Tomato Paste OR Already Seasoned Pasta Sauce
Salt
Crushed Red Pepper (or seasoning of your choice)
Here we go!
Step 1: Make Cauliflower “Rice”
Place the 4 cups of raw cauliflower in a food processor until it reaches a rice like consistency.
Step 2: Sauté the Veggies
In a sauce pan, sauté the garlic, onions, mushroom & cauliflower rice in olive oil until the cauliflower is soft (approximately 4-5 minutes). Then, set aside while you cook the turkey.
Step 3: Sauté & Cook the Turkey
Add olive oil & 1/4 onion to a skillet and fully cook the ground turkey.
Step 4: Mix!
Mix in the cauliflower/onion/garlic/mushroom sauté to the turkey and season with the salt & red pepper.
images
Step 5: Stuff the Peppers
Cut off the tops of the peppers and gut them. Then fill each pepper to the brim with the cauliflower/turkey sauté.
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IMG_3381
Step 5: Cook!
Fill a medium sauce pan 1/3 of the way up with your pasta sauce (I use tomato paste and add garlic, 1/2 onion and a touch of red wine. You can even go crazy and add bacon). Place the stuffed peppers in the saucepan so they are upright. Cover and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour on medium heat. Note: Make sure the peppers don’t get too soft. If they do, that means they are ready to eat so remove & cool right away. Drizzle the top of the peppers with a little parmesan cheese.
Step 6: EAT
images-1

Cauliflower Crust Pizza!

Healthy Meals, Recipes

Calling all pizza lovers and well…health lovers, too! This recipe for cauliflower crust pizza will not only quench your pizza craving, but it’ll do it guilt freeeeee. It’s one of my favorite things to eat:

Cauliflower Crust Pizza Recipe:

IMG_3166

Ingredients: 

4 cups raw cauliflower

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup soft goat cheese (chèvre)

Pinch of salt

Here we go!

Preheat oven to 400F. 

Step 1: Begin making the cauliflower “rice”. 

Place the 4 cups raw cauliflower in a food processor until it reaches a rice like consistency.

Step 2: Cook & strain the rice. 

Fill a pot with one inch of water and bring to a boil. Add the “rice” and cover it. Let it cook for 4-5 minutes. Then, drain into a fine mesh drainer. *Secret trick: Once you’ve drained the rice, transfer it to a clean dishtowel (or cheese cloth). Wrap the steamed rice in the dish towel/cheese cloth and squeeze out all the excess water.

Step 3: Make the dough

IMG_3173

In a large bowl, mix the cauliflower, beaten egg, cheese and salt (or other spices) until super together. The texture won’t be what you are expecting, but don’t worry, it’ll work. Next, press the dough onto a non stick baking sheet (or line a baking sheet with parchment paper). It’ll look something like this:

IMG_3174

Step 4: Bake

Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400F

Step 5: Load up on toppings! 

We made 2 pizzas:

1.  Caramelized onions, brussel sprouts, brie & prosciutto  IMG_3182

2. Caramelized onions, garlic, mushrooms & asiago cheese

IMG_2853

Step 6: ENJOYYYYY (sans guilt)!

IMG_3658

Recipe cred: http://detoxinista.com

Morning Detox Elixir

Detox, Recipes

Say hello to your all natural, super clean morning detox elixir. I drink this shot every other morning, first thing in the morning. It’s the perfect way to jumpstart your health. It’ll also jumpstart your senses (it’s strong, but so worth it). It’s also super duper helpful if you are feeling under the weather (hello, flu season)

Ingredients:

1 tsp. Organic, Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (I use Bragg’s Raw-Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar)

1 small lemon, peeled

1/2 inch ginger, peeled

Cayenne Pepper (amount is up to you. I use around 1/2 tsp.)

A bit of water (amount is up to you depending on how strong you want the drink)

Blender or a NutriBullet

Directions: Toss the peeled lemon, apple cider vinegar, ginger and water into your blender. Blend for approx. 30 seconds. Once it’s blended, add the cayenne pepper and drink to your health!

Benefits of each ingredient:

Apple Cider Vinegar: ACV is high in acetic acid, which is great for you. Here’s why: The acetic acid suppresses your appetite, increases your metabolism and reduces water retention. Scientists also theorize that ACV interferes with the body’s digestion of starch, which means fewer calories enter the bloodstream. It also lowers blood sugar, soothes a sore throat (great for if you feel a cold coming on!), lowers cholesterol, prevents indigestion and clears a stuffy nose.

Lemons are an alkalizing power food! They taste acidic, but have alkalizing properties which help restore balance to your pH system. They are also rich in vitamin C and flavonoids which work against infections like colds and the flu and they neutralize free radicals that make you age poorly. Lemons are skin brighteners – My skin has gotten so much brighter since drinking this elixir.

Ginger reduces pain and inflammation. It has a warming effect and stimulates circulation. It also inhibits rhinovirus, which can cause the common cold; Ginger reduces gas and painful spasms, prevents nausea and is an immune booster.

Cayenne Pepper is a circulatory stimulant (it works by heating the body so that the natural detoxification process is streamlined). It’s a metabolic booster & decreases appetite in addition to being an anti cold & flu agent, having anti-fungal properties and is a digestive aid. It eases upset stomach, sore throats, coughs and prevents migraines.