Chicken w/ Broccoli Stir-Fry

This evening I made a quick Chicken w/ Broccoli Stir-Fry and tossed in a few roasted whole almonds at the end for a little extra crunch.  I snapped a quick picture below for you to see.  This is very similar to the recipe I made for my Quick & Spicy Stir-Fried Chicken in this link, except in tonight's stir-fry I used cashew butter as my thickener (instead of peanut butter), used boneless chicken breasts (instead of chicken thighs) and topped it with almonds (instead of peanuts).  I served mine over "cauliflower rice" and hubby had his over brown rice.  It was quick, simple and delicious.  Enjoy!

BOOM!

Lemon Coconut Chiffon Fluff w/ Toasted Coconut Chips (No Bake)

Last night I made a no bake Lemon Chiffon Fluff with Toasted Coconut Chips. I chilled it overnight to serve for dessert this evening. It was simple and good and reminded me of a crustless lemon chiffon pie. Since it didn't have any crust, I used the larger coconut chips from Tropical Traditions that I toasted for a few minutes to top it with for a little added crunch and nutty flavor. It turned out really good. I snapped a few photos below along with the recipe. The recipe uses my Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk (also below). Note that the condensed milk recipe makes more than the 3/4 cup necessary in this recipe. You can easily make a half recipe of the condensed milk if you don't want any extra to make other things with and the 1/2 recipe of condensed milk would provide you enough to double the Lemon Coconut Chiffon Fluff recipe if you wanted to make 6 to 8 servings. Enjoy!

Lemon Coconut Chiffon Fluff w/ Toasted Coconut Chips

INGREDIENTS:

6 ounces cream cheese (brick style), softened (can use up to 8 ounces)
3/4 cups Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk (recipe below)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
6 tablespoons Swerve confectioners style sweetener (or equivalent to 6 tablespoons sugar)
1/4 cup cold heavy cream, whipped to stiff peak stage
Additional sweetener (Swerve or stevia drops) to taste, optional
1 cup toasted coconut chips (large flakes)

DIRECTIONS:

In a large mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese until fluffy using a hand mixer. Add sweetened condensed coconut milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, 6 tablespoons Swerve and beat until mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until well blended and smooth. Taste for sweetness and add additional sweetener, if desired. Spoon mixture into custard cups or dessert bowls.  Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.  To serve, top with toasted coconut flakes.  Makes approximately 4 servings.

**Note: If you prefer a thicker consistency, add an additional 2 ounces of cream cheese to the filling for a total of 8 ounces.  

Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk 
Makes approximately 2-1/2 cups

*Note: Above recipe for Lemon Coconut Chiffon Fluff calls for only 3/4 cup, so this recipe can easily be halved (and half of the condensed milk recipe makes 1-1/2 cups which is enough to double the Lemon Coconut Chiffon recipe above for 6-8 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

2 (14-ounce) cans unsweetened coconut milk

3/4 cup Swerve granular or confectioners style sweetener

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stevia drops, optional (if additional sweetness desired)

DIRECTIONS:

Add coconut milk to a small heavy saucepan and stir in Swerve or sweetener of choice, butter and vanilla. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  After milk comes to a boil, reduce heat to low-medium and simmer, stirring and whisking frequently for about 45 minutes until reduced almost by half. Taste for sweetness.  If additional sweetness is desired, add liquid stevia drops (or sweetener of choice) until desired sweetness is achieved. Makes approximately 2-1/2 cups of sweetened condensed coconut milk.  Cool before using in recipes. Refrigerate any unused portion.

  

Speedy Shrimp w/ Snow Peas

This evening I made Shrimp w/ Snow Peas and served it over "cauliflower rice" (fresh cauliflower that I grated with a box grater and steamed in the microwave for 2-3 minutes).  I made a speedy version of shrimp stir-fry almost identical to the Speedy Shrimp Stir-Fry w/ Broccoli I've made before.  The only difference is that tonight I used snow peas instead of  broccoli florets, I steamed fresh snow peas with a little diced red pepper and a thinly sliced carrot for 2 to 3 minutes to keep crisp-tender (instead of the broccoli).  The recipe I used is linked above (the only difference was the snow peas and a little diced red pepper instead of the broccoli).  The secret ingredient for thickening the sauce is raw cashew butter. It was so quick and easy to make.  I "cheated" by using already cooked shrimp that I reheat in the wok rather than raw shrimp.  I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!

Roasted Wild Sockeye Salmon w/ Lemon Dill Garlic Butter

This evening I fixed Roasted Wild Sockeye Salmon w/ Lemon Dill Garlic Butter.  I bought a few beautiful large fillets at Costco yesterday and fixed the largest one this evening since youngest son came for dinner.  I melted a few tablespoons of Kerrygold Garlic Herb Butter and stirred in some fresh lemon zest and chopped fresh dill and a pinch of sea salt.  I brushed the herb butter on the fillets and   roasted them in a 450 degree F oven for 5 minutes and then turned the heat down to 425 degrees and roasted an additional 7 minutes.  Immediately after removing them from the oven, I cover them with foil and let sit for about 10 minutes.  We had the last of the Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole and Green Beans w/ Toasted Almonds.  It was a quick and simple dinner to put together.  I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!

Voila!

BOOM!

Sunday Brunch...Omelets Filled w/ Andouille Sausage, Peppers & Onions

Happy Sunday!  We awoke to another dark and cloudy morning.  However, it was cool and only in the mid-70s, so we decided to take our morning walk and see if we could get that done before the rain began.  We walked for over an hour and even had time to stop and pick up a newspaper and few groceries at the store we pass by and managed to make it all the way home before the first sprinkles began!  How is that for perfect timing?  The sun has since peeked out a little bit, but the clouds in the sky are dark, so it's just teasing us a little bit.  When we got back I made omelets for breakfast and filled them with the leftover Cajun Stir-fry from last night's dinner (smoked andouille chicken sausage and peppers).  I added in a few onions while reheating the sausage and peppers and diced the sausage into smaller pieces to distribute better throughout our omelets.  I also added some shredded smoked provolone cheese and sharp cheddar.  I pulled some Easy Cheesy Herbed Baguette Bread out of the freezer, that I made a couple weeks ago, and sliced it into "toast soldiers" and lightly toasted them to go with our omelets.  Since it was noon by the time we ate, I added a little cup of full fat Greek Gods plain yogurt to my meal as well.  I flavored it with natural black currant extract, a little stevia and some chopped walnuts -- it was so good; and of course, we had coffee to go with our brunch.  I love re-inventing another completely different meal with leftovers.  I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!

Simple Cajun Stir-Fry...w/ Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole & Roasted Asparagus

It was overcast most of the day and it finally began to rain early this evening.  We did our Costco run late this afternoon.  I picked up some wild sockeye salmon, Kerrygold butter (that they had just go in), some Amylu smoked Andouille chicken sausages (no msg, nitrites or nitrates and gluten free) and a bunch of other items.  I decided to use the sausage to make dinner this evening and thought about what I might do with it on our way back home.  I had also picked up a bag of multi-colored mini-peppers (red, yellow and orange), and decided to make a Cajun Stir-fry with the sausage and peppers.  When I got home, I sliced the sausage links diagonally, and since they are fully cooked, they just needed to be sauteed a bit to brown and heat up.  I sliced several peppers up and a green spring onion. I cooked the sausage in a non-stick skillet with a tiny bit of olive oil -- it only took a few minutes.  I transferred the sausage to a plate and then added the sliced peppers to the pan and briefly sauteed them a couple minutes until crisp tender and then added the green onion in at the end and cooked another minute. I tossed the sausage back in the pan with the peppers and onion before serving.  While preparing the Cajun Stir-fry, I roasted some fresh asparagus with a little olive oil, sea salt and black pepper at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  I reheated the Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole left from the other night and "boom" -- dinner was ready in no time.  The sweet mini peppers were a nice contrast to the spicy Andouille chicken sausage.  It was a great combination of flavors.  I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!

BOOM!

Salad Bar in a Bowl

This evening I was in the mood for a nice big salad for dinner.  I chopped up all the salad fixings while I sent hubby on a rotisserie chicken run to keep it simple for our dinner on this rainy Friday night.  Rain has become our "new normal" here in Georgia!  For our salads, I chopped up a couple small heads of artisan romaine lettuce; shredded some red cabbage; thinly sliced a carrot; halved some small cherry tomatoes; diced some red bell pepper; and diced some Kerrygold cheddar cheese (Red Leicester).  I sliced half of an avocado to put on my salad and hubby added banana peppers to his salad.  To make our "croutons", I roasted some whole pecans at 350 degrees F for about 8 minutes and then tossed them while hot in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of melted Kerrygold butter that I seasoned with a couple dashes of chipotle chile powder and sea salt.  I popped the lightly buttered seasoned pecans back into the oven and roasted them for about 3 more minutes and let them cool.  When hubby got home with the chicken, I cut the breast meat into large chunks and then put our salads together.  Hubby had his with ranch dressing and I had mine with a simple vinaigrette that I seasoned with sea salt and chipotle chile powder. The buttered spiced pecans added a nice buttery, toasty crunch with a little kick from the chipotle. There were so many different items in our salads that it was like having a salad bar in a bowl.  I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  It was a quick and simple dinner for a Friday night -- and it kept our kitchen cool on this rainy, muggy evening.  Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary to ME -- My 1-Year Wheatless-versary!!!

Well, today (July 10th) is my 1st Wheatless-versary!  One year ago today, I eliminated wheat, grains and added sugar from my life and began following the Wheat Belly program by Dr. Davis.  I hemmed and hawed about it for several months before actually beginning. I really thought it was just another "here today/gone tomorrow" fad-type diet. While I really wanted to believe in it, the truth is I really didn't think it was all that it claimed to be.  But, something kept drawing me back to it.  I regularly read Dr. Davis' Track Your Plaque blog for several years before Wheat Belly came along -- primarily because of my issue with high triglycerides. While I was fascinated by the idea that it could be as simple as eliminating wheat, grains, sugars, etc....it also was completely opposite from everything else I had ever read anywhere else or had been told by numerous physicians.  The consistent mantra of low fat, healthy whole grains was what everyone else seemed to be preaching.  Could it really be true that whole grains really weren't so healthy after all and that fat really wasn't the enemy?  Then, Wheat Belly came along...and I began following that blog as well.  I must have "liked" and "unliked" that Facebook page at least half a dozen times, feeling like it was just too good to be true and wondering why, if it was really "that great", everyone else hadn't jumped on the bandwagon, too!  Lets just say I was intrigued, but seriously skeptical.

Then, after getting the frightening results of my triglycerides last July...546, I knew that I had to do something drastic.  It was getting harder and harder to defend saying "no" to my doctor about considering medications to lower them.  I had tried everything over the years -- lost weight, no fat, low fat, exercised like a freak...and while they would come down some -- they were never...ever within normal range.  It was so discouraging and frustrating every time I got my lab results back...it was like coming home with a bad grade on my report card when I knew I had tried my very best and did everything I was told to do.  I would just get frustrated and give up.  Gradually, I began putting on weight after getting injured while jogging one night (serves me right for jogging at night). So...after my lab results came back last summer, I decided I would go ahead and give Wheat Belly a try for a few weeks...hoping it would work, but fully expecting it not to.  I figured I really had nothing to lose...and the worst case scenario was I would go without wheat for a few weeks which was not a big deal.  I was a bit concerned because I love to cook and feared that by eliminating wheat, grains and most starches that cooking would be so boring, and eating would be even worse.  So, I set out to deliberately make sure that would never ever be the case.  Rather than focus on all the foods I had to eliminate, I chose to focus on the list of foods that I could eat and to find a way to embellish and enhance them by putting the ingredients together to make something awesome...not simply "alright"...I wanted AWESOME!  I did not want to feel deprived because I knew that would be my downfall and also knew that I would not be able to maintain eating this way forever if I felt deprived.  I worked on creating a few dishes early on that would make me feel like I could survive this.  One was "pasta dishes" -- the other was "pizza". So, one of the first things I worked on satisfying was a good substitute for both of those items.  I recreated spaghetti, fettucine, lasagna noodles by substituting zucchini or eggplant in place of the pasta and realized that regular pasta was really nothing more than a bland vehicle in which to enjoy the tasty cheeses, sauces, etc. that you ladled or layered along with them.  I experimented with creating a variety of pizza crusts, most of which were just "alright"...and remember, I was looking for awesome, not alright!  I finally created one that would make pining for pizza a thing of the past.  Interestingly, what I did find was that the longer I was away from wheat and grains...the less I missed or craved them.  Once I had suitable substitutions (that I actually liked more than the original versions) of those couple dishes...I settled down and realized that not only was it possible to live without wheat and grains...but it was downright enjoyable as well!  For the first time, I was in control of my appetite...it did not control me!  I can't describe how liberating and calming that was, all at the same time.

Now, back to my triglycerides...after 6 weeks without wheat and grains, they were cut in half.  After 7 to 8 months, they had gone from 546 to 115, by simply removing wheat and grains.  I look forward to getting my physical and labs done next month to compare them to last year's results.  Oh, I forgot to mention that I lost 65 pounds this past year.  Did I mention that 55 of those 65 pounds were lost in 6 months with NO exercise, just simply abstaining from wheat and grains???  I began exercising after 6 months, and have lost an additional 10 pounds for a total of 65 pounds.  I have more energy than I know what to do with.

During this past year, I have shared almost everything I have made daily on my blog.  It is interesting to look back at my "pictorial food diary" for this past year.  I've made it my mission to not only post the pictures of what I ate, but also provide my recipes and/or instructions, hoping it might give ideas to those wondering what to make or eat. I wanted to help give those that might be on the fence, like I once was, hope and inspiration and show them that eating wheat/grain free is not only good for you...but it is a delicious and sustainable way to live. I can honestly say that this past year has been an interesting journey, and not once have I felt deprived. While some people may feel that I am deprived and can't eat "this or that" any more, I know that I can eat whatever I choose to.  It is my choice not to eat wheat or grains any more; a conscious and willful decision on my part.  I wish more people could enjoy the tremendous health benefits for themselves.  I am forever thankful for the inspiration that Dr. Davis gave me via his book, Wheat Belly, and the inspiration that he gives to countless others each and every single day via his Wheat Belly Blog and Facebook page.  Thank you, Dr. Davis!

Oh My...It's Beef & Veggie Stir-fry!

This evening I was in the mood for "Chinese".  I stopped at the store on the way home to pick up some beef to make a stir-fry with.  I found a beautiful 1-pound package of top round steak that was already sliced for stir-fry.  I normally like to cut my own steak, but this package of meat was unusually beautiful so I bought it, and in doing so, saved myself a step.  I love lots of different veggies in my stir-fries.

I cut up about 2 cups of fresh broccoli florets and steamed those for 3 minutes in a few tablespoons of water (covered) in the microwave.  I added a handful of fresh snow peas on top of the steamed broccoli, covered them, and steamed an additional minute in the microwave. I sliced 3 mini peppers; red, yellow and orange and 2 green spring onions.  I added thinly sliced red cabbage to add some crunch and color.  I minced 2 large cloves of garlic to add flavor to the dish.

To cook, I heated a couple tablespoons of extra virgin coconut oil on medium high heat in my wok and added a couple pinches of red pepper flakes and the beef and stir-fried just until the meat was no longer pink. I used a large spoon and spooned the juices off into a bowl as the meat cooked it would sear nicely (not simmer in its own juices). I spooned about 1/2 cup of beef juices off into my bowl and set it aside to use to make the sauce later.

I transferred the cooked beef to a plate and then added the minced garlic to the hot wok with another pinch of red pepper flakes and stir-fried for a minute or so, then added half of the sliced green onions, all of the peppers, red cabbage and stir-fried them for a few minutes until crisp tender.  I then transferred the cooked veggies and placed on top of the beef so I could make a quick and simple sauce.  I poured the beef juices back into my wok and added about 3 tablespoons of organic Tamari sauce (which is basically a wheat free soy sauce), a few grinds of sea salt, another pinch of red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and then stirred in a heaping tablespoon of organic peanut butter to use as a thickener for the sauce. It doesn't take much and it gives you the same texture/consistency that you would normally get if you used traditional cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I tasted the sauce and adjusted it for seasoning.

This made just enough sauce to glaze and coat the stir-fry, so it is important to make the sauce flavorful.  If you like more sauce you can add more beef broth. I made do with what came out of the beef as it cooked, because I prefer it coated, not swimming in sauce.  I added in the beef along with the stir-fried veggies, the drained steamed broccoli and snow peas and tossed everything together to coat with the sauce. I served mine over a bed of steamed cauliflower rice (fresh cauliflower that I grated on a regular box-type grater and then steamed in the microwave for 3 minutes).  I don't add any water to the cauliflower rice when I steam it, and it comes out perfect. I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!

Meatloaf Burgers & Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole

This evening I was in the mood for meatloaf but wanted to put a quick and different twist on it.  I stopped at the store on my way home and picked up a pound of grass fed organic beef by Maverick Ranch.  This is the third different brand of grass fed beef I've tried and so far I don't care for the first two kinds I've tried at all...I would rather not eat any beef than to eat those and both were from local Georgia farms.  Finally, this brand has GGC approval...LOL -- it's the first one that didn't have a weird and strong taste to me.  I have never been much of a beef person to begin with (since young childhood) which is pretty weird considering that I grew up in a family that loved their red meat. Growing up, I was always the "meat outcast" and would order chicken instead of steak when our family would eat at one of their favorite "house of beef" restaurants.  Anyway...I decided to make "meatloaf burgers" and since it was raining on and off this evening, I made the burgers inside.  I mixed the ground beef with a few squeezes of ketchup, mustard, sriracha, Greek seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper and then added some finely minced Vidalia onion to mine (hubby is not fond of onions).  I formed them into patties and then sauteed them in a pan on the stove.  I also sauteed some sliced fresh mushrooms in Kerrygold Herb Garlic Butter and made my Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole to go with it.  I topped the "meatloaf burgers" with some sliced white cheddar cheese with chipotle chile peppers and spooned the buttered mushrooms over my burger.  It was a simple and delicious dinner and it was nice having half burger/half meatloaf, too.  My recipe for the Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole is linked above.  I snapped a few photos below.  Enjoy!

BOOM!

  

Greek Style Spinach-Feta Pie & Heirloom Tomato Salad

This evening I was in the mood for my Greek Style Spinach-Feta Pie.  I also happened to have a pound of organic fresh baby spinach that needed to be used.  I had some heirloom tomatoes left from this weekend that I wanted to use up, so I made a quick and easy Heirloom Tomato Salad with them.  I simply diced them and seasoned with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, fresh dill and then drizzled and tossed with extra virgin olive oil and a splash of pomegranate infused red wine vinegar.  It was simple, fresh and delicious.  I repainted my kitchen this weekend (which is why I didn't do any posting).  What I thought would take a couple hours ended up taking me 14+ hours???  Don't ask me why, other than I am a perfectionist...LOL.  I painted from 5:00-10:00 pm Saturday and 8:00-5:00 Sunday.  I was totally exhausted when I got finished from standing and climbing up and down the ladder for so many hours...so last night was a rotisserie chicken night; I was too tired to even make a salad to go with it! So...tonight's dinner seemed extra good to me.  I snapped a few photos right before the storms rolled in.  There was thunder rumbling in the distance and the wind was picking up.  So far, we have close to 16 inches of surplus rain this year (and rain is in the forecast every single day through Saturday this week).  It's such a drastic change from the droughts we've had almost every summer for awhile now.  I had hoped to get the chance to repaint my patio table, too, but the weather this past week made that impossible. The good thing about all the rain is that this is the greenest July I ever remember seeing! The recipe to my spinach-feta pie is linked above (in the first sentence). This is definitely one worth trying -- it's one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Here are the beautiful heirloom tomatoes I used for the simple tomato salad.

  

Eggplant Lasagna & Heirloom Caprese Salad

Today has been another weird weather day -- it swings back and forth between bright sunshine and dark clouds and then sudden downpours of rain.  We ran a number of errands this afternoon and when we got back, we decided to have a little earlier dinner than usual.  We had the Eggplant Lasagna that I made last night.  I also made an Heirloom Caprese Salad using 3 different kinds of heirloom tomatoes that we picked up at Whole Foods a couple of days ago.  Caprese salads are so simple to make...basically alternating slices of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves.  You simply drizzle it with some extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  You could also drizzle it with a little balsamic vinegar if you wanted to.  I kept it simple and just drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.  The heirloom tomatoes were absolutely beautiful -- almost too pretty to eat!  I had one deep, dark plum colored tomato, one that was bright red with little yellow stripes and one beautiful yellow one.  I believe I enjoyed the Eggplant Lasagna even more today than I did last night. It cuts so much nicer the next day, too.  To reheat, I cut each piece while it is is cold and then gently reheat them in the microwave at a lower temperature.  The key thing to remember when making lasagna with vegetables as noodles (eggplant or zucchini) is to always pre-cook the "noodles" so they don't release their juices into your lasagna and to use less sauce than you think you should -- it is always easy to add a little puddle of sauce to your plate or spoon some on top if you like more sauce.  I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!

Eggplant Lasagna...

We are currently getting torrential rain here and the weather report on the news said we could get up to 3 inches of rain by tomorrow.  It's now supposed to rain here through Sunday...yuck!  I ended up making Eggplant Lasagna for our dinner tonight since grilling anything was absolutely out of the question.  I stepped out onto my patio to snap a few quick pictures of it on the table out back and the sky opened up and it began pouring down rain.  Fortunately the table is under a big umbrella, otherwise my lasagna and I would have been totally soaked.  I snapped the pictures quickly and hurried back into the house.  Even with the overcast skies...natural light is so much better for taking pictures.

I made this lasagna just like I would make regular lasagna, but substituted thinly sliced eggplant (about 1/4" thick) roasted in the oven until tender for the lasagna noodles.  When I make lasagna using zucchini or eggplant, I usually don't make it very saucy (it is better to spoon additional sauce over each serving if additional sauce is desired).  This evening I browned 1 pound of ground sirloin with some diced Vidalia onion and minced garlic (seasoned generously with sea salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes) and layered it separately from the sauce instead of making a meat sauce.  I used about 3/4 of a jar of Rao's Arrabbiata sauce.  I made 3 separate layers of eggplant, 1 meat layer, 3 cheese layers (1 cheese layer with fresh mozzarella and another cheese layer of sliced regular mozzarella and finely grated Parmesan and then topped it with the final layer of Parmigiano Reggiano).  I began with a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the casserole, added another thin layer of sauce over the meat layer and finished it with sauce on the top, ending with shredded Parmigiana Reggiano. It was simple to put together.  I had originally planned to put some ricotta cheese in as well...but decided not to at the last minute. It's kind of a cross between lasagna and Eggplant Parmigiana (only with meat in it, too).  I baked it uncovered at 350 degrees F for about 45-50 minutes and then broiled it for a few additional minutes until it the cheese on top was bubbly.  I let the lasagna cool for about 20 minutes before cutting so the cheeses would set back up a bit and make neater pieces when cut.  It was delicious!  I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!