Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are a great alternative to traditional gluten and refined sugar-filled chocolate chip cookies.  Right now I'm watching This is 40 and it's at the part when the mom is getting rid of everything in their house with gluten and sugar.  How funny!   

Try these cookies... you'll love them!  

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-free and Refined Sugar-free)

Adapted from Against All Grain

1/2 c (4 oz) organic, grass grazed butter (I use a brand from a local dairy)
1/2 c coconut palm sugar (I use Madhava brand)
4 T (84 g) raw honey
4 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 c (360 g) almond meal
4 T (28 g) coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I use coarse kosher salt)
1 c enjoy life mini chocolate chips OR other dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Soften butter in microwave (melted is fine too).  Add coconut palm sugar, honey, vanilla, and egg and cream until fluffy.  Add dry ingredients (almond meal, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt) and beat until well combined.  Stir in chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate.  Scoop by medium scoopfuls onto parchment lined baking sheets and flatten gently.  Bake 10-12 min.  Cool on baking sheet about 5 minutes then remove to rack to cool the rest of the way.  Store in the fridge or freezer.  I recommend the freezer!  They stay perfectly chewy and can be eaten directly from the freezer.  This recipe makes around 30 cookies.

Pad Thai

This is a super flavorful, easy meal that Rem and I made the other night and both LOVED!  We adapted it from many paleo pad thai recipes we found on various blogs out there.  I suppose I could call my version "two tablespoon" pad thai since I added that much of almost every ingredient.  This would be an easy recipe to memorize!

Instead of the traditional noodles used as the basis of pad thai, I decided to try using zucchini in their place.  I've never tried making "noodles" with zucchini before because I thought I needed a vegetable spiralizer, but as I searched for pad thai recipes I noticed that many cooks just use a vegetable peeler to create noodles from the zucchini.  I tried it and it worked perfectly!  Ironically, we also made brown rice pasta to go along with the pad thai (which you can see in the picture).  Also pictured are some steamed green beans.  I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we did!

Pad Thai

2 T coconut oil

2 large onions, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 T ginger, minced

2 T apple cider vinegar

2 T raw almond butter

2 T sriracha

2 T fish sauce (I used Dynasty brand, which is only made from anchovies and water)

2 T lime juice

3 medium sized zucchinis, sliced into thin strips with a vegetable peeler (I tried to make the strips about 1/4 inch wide by turning the zucchini each time I sliced)

1-2 lb. chicken, cubed and cooked in sesame oil (exclude if you want to make just the noodles)

Heat coconut oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or wok.  After the coconut oil melts, add onion, garlic, and ginger.  Saute for about 5-8 minutes or until fragrant and the onion has begun to soften, stirring around occasionally.  Stir in apple cider vinegar, almond butter, sriracha, fish sauce, and lime juice.  Add zucchini, cover wok, and cook about 10 min. or until zucchini is soft.  Take the lid off and stir occasionally during this time.  Then add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes more or until chicken is hot.  Enjoy!

Zucchini Hummus and Baba Ganouj

A few weekends ago it was SO beautiful outside that we tried out the rotisserie on the grill and made our own rotisserie chickens!  And by "we," I mean Rem.  I was just the assistant who did things like run to the store to get butcher twine.  (On a side note: The Kroger on East Broad St. in Columbus has wonderful employees.  I went there looking for twine and asked a manager if they sold it.  He said he was sorry, but no they did not.  He asked me to wait for just a minute, went into the back of the store, and came back with about 4 feet of butcher's twine from the meat department.  He just gave it to me for free!  I was so grateful that I did not have to run around to other stores looking for it, and that this kind man just gave me what I needed!)  Anyway... the chicken was more tender than a store bought rotisserie chicken and more flavorful too. Plus it didn't have any extra sugar or artificial flavorings.  It was quite the process figuring out how to use the rotisserie for the first time, but boy was it worth it.  

To go along with the chicken we made a big salad and some Mediterranean style dips.  Both were equally delicious and paired perfectly with the chicken and salad for a light meal on a day that felt like summer!  Is it summer yet?  I can't wait!

Zucchini Hummus

Originally from Amazing Paleo

4 large zucchini

3/4 c tahini

2 T olive oil

8 T lemon juice (or about 4 fresh lemons, juiced)

4 garlic cloves

1 T cumin

1 tsp coarse salt

1/4 tsp paprika

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.  I added the zucchini in about 3 batches because it wouldn't all fit in the food processor at first.  Refrigerate.  

Baba Ganouj

2 eggplants

1 T extra virgin olive oil

2 T tahini

2 more T extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove

1/2 tsp cumin

2 T lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

a few shakes of cayenne pepper

Cut eggplants in half and brush cut side with 1 T olive oil.  Place cut side down on foil lined baking sheets and roast at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until eggplants are very tender.  Let eggplants cool for about 10 minutes, then scoop out the flesh into food processor.  Add 2 T olive oil, tahini, garlic, cumin, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper.  Process until smooth, then refrigerate.  

  

Favorite Chicken Salad

I eat a huge salad most days for lunch, and this one is one of my favorites!  I think I ate it every day for lunch this week.  It's definitely a staple in my diet.  The recipe below makes 1 very large salad (in the picture I actually just photographed about half of the salad).

Favorite Chicken Salad

spinach, a few large handfuls, torn into small pieces
baby carrots, chopped into small pieces
fresh sugar snap peas, chopped into small piece
1/4 c red onion, chopped fine
1/2 avocado, sliced into pieces
salsa, about 1/4 c
pepper, a few grinds
cumin (this makes it extra tasty!), a few shakes
4 oz. chicken breasts or thighs, cooked any way you like and chopped into bite size pieces

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Eat!  This makes 1 serving for me.

*Sometimes I swap out or add cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, or broccoli slaw.
I also swap out ground beef (heated) or tuna for the chicken.