Simple Coconut Chocolate Bars

Okay, let me just start by saying that I am not a dessert person. Yes I know its weird and unnatural, but sweets are just not my thing. My husband thinks I am from another planet (he is a very serious cookie dough/chocolate cake lover). I think my toddler son Jude is taking after my dessert-neglecting ways, because the few times I have let him try chocolate he is not really interested. In fact, I let him have a go at these very bars, but he just tried to pick the chocolate chips out and commented that they were sour- weirdo- I know!!!! (Of course, during this incident my husband was snickering about how Jude cannot possibly be his son)- HA! Anyway, despite not loving dessert; there are a few days out of the month when I do get a few sweet/chocolatey type cravings (ladies I know you feel me here), so I went on a hunt for a treat that was a tad sweet yet still pretty clean. I found a decent recipe (and then modified it a bit) and absolutely LOVE how very simple & delicious these bars turned out to be!!!!

These simple, slightly chewy squares are definitely for the coconut lovers out there. The sweetness from the mini chocolate chips is sufficient to sweeten these squares but as an alternative, you could use carob chips, chopped dates or chopped dried apricots.

 Ingredients:
2 cups finely shredded unsweetened coconut
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup mini dark chocolate chips

1.    Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
2.    Whisk egg and vanilla together in a small mixing bowl.  Add coconut and chocolate chips and stir to combine.
3.    Pour out into prepared baking pan.  Flatten out and pat down with a spatula or back of a wooden spoon.
4.    Bake for 22 minutes, until starting to turn golden.  Let cool.
5.    Cut into squares and enjoy!

Green Smoothie Guide

Want to add more greens and good stuff to your diet but don't know where to start? Here is a great GREEN smoothie guide to follow! Let's face it, most of us don't get enough greens in our day and sometimes you are just not in a mood for another salad. Go ahead try one of these smoothies each day for a week and let me know how you feel :)

*You can use raisins or dates to sweeten it up as well!

Enjoy!

Dinner at my House: Cilantro Salmon Burgers

Cilantro Salmon Burgers with a Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• For the patties–
• 1lb salmon, skin removed
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 3 stalks celery, chopped small (yes, small)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon green onions
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• For the vinaigrette–
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 limes, juices squeezed
• 1/2 lemon, juices squeezed
• 1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

1. Pull out your food processor. If you don’t have one, good luck. Life is just not quite as fun without one. Add all your patty ingredients to the food processor, except for the celery. Once everything is mixed, fold in the chopped celery.
2. Make patties however big you want.
3. Place on hot, greased skillet and cook on both sides for about 3-5 minutes or until cooked through.
4. While the salmon burgers are cooking, make the vinaigrette.
5. Add all vinaigrette ingredients to the food processor. Taste to perfect! Add salt if needed.
6. Top burgers off with vinaigrette.

 YUM! Enjoy!! 

'Graham Cracker' Protein Shake

This tastes EXACTLY like a graham cracker! SO GOOD!

 Ingredients
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I prefer Jay Robb whey)
1 tablespoon natural almond butter
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 cup ice
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Sprinkle of pumpkin spice



 Blend well & enjoy!

Clean Eating Alfredo Sauce

Question is- who doesn't love alfredo sauce??  Now, there’s a clean eating (dairy free) alternative that uses awesome whole, natural ingredients! No soy, either, if you’re wondering. Win win!! & Yum yum!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cauliflower
• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup cooked white beans
• 1 large shallot
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 3 cloves garlic
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Add cauliflower to pot of boiling water and boil until tender (a few mins).
Add 1 tbsp olive oil, sliced shallot and chopped garlic cloves to a pan. Heat until tender.
Add almond milk, beans, cauliflower, shallot, garlic, lemon juice, remaining 2 tbsp olive oil to blender. Blend until smooth.
Taste, add salt & pepper as needed, & blend again. I had to add a good amount of salt and pepper to get it to my liking. Be your own judge.
Pour over your favorite whole grain pasta, protein or veggies! Top with red pepper flakes, if desired.
Enjoy!

Think Outside the Bun

 Recipe modified from: 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Insalata-Caprese-II/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• fine sea salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. On a large platter, alternate and overlap the tomato slices, mozzarella cheese slices, and basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper.

ENJOY!!!!

Dinner at My House: Coconut Shrimp & Sweet Potato Spears

Let me start by saying: I love coconut shrimp! Let me also add that it is difficult to find a healthy/clean version that still tastes yummy since coconut shrimp is normally deep fried. Red Lobster's Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp contains 880 calories, 60 grams of fat and 1,860mg of sodium (daily recommended sodium intake is only 1,500mg). Yikes!! Needless to say I would not be eating Red Lobster's shrimp or any other deep fried shrimp- so I have been on a mission/recipe search for the past few months. And then just last night I finally found the coconut shrimp recipe of my dreams. I whipped up the shrimp and some sweet potato spears on the side. Dinner was amazing (and gluten free). Check it out!

(Before they went in the oven)

Shrimp Loves Coconut
1 lb large shrimp, tail on peeled and deveined (I used med. size)
1/3 cup coconut flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 egg whites
2 cups coconut flakes
Pre heat oven to 400. In a mixing bowl, stir together the coconut flour, salt, and cayenne pepper. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy.  In another bowl, pour the coconut flakes.  Taking one shrimp at a time, dry well with a paper towel and dredge each shrimp in the coconut flour mixture, dip into the egg whites and then roll into the coconut flakes.  Bake on a lightly greased (with coconut oil) baking sheet for 12- 15 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and the coconut flakes start to brown.

(sweet potato spears)

Sweet Potato Spears
 2-3 sweet potatoes cut like french fries
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp paprika
black pepper to taste
sprinkle of sea salt
1/4 – 1/2 cup olive oil
Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, whisk all spices together with the olive oil and then toss the sweet potato spears in the olive oil mixture until all the spears are coated.  Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and evenly spread the potato spears on the foil.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning the spears over half way through the cooking time.

Yum!

ENJOY!!!

Cauliflower Popcorn Recipe

Try this popcorn treat for your next family movie night. It has crunchy goodness without the added fat or calories!

 

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer to a baking sheet and spread in a single layer.
3. Roast, stirring once, until golden brown and tender, about 30 minutes.

 ENJOY!

Dinner & Dessert- GRILLED!

 I love living in San Diego for several reasons, but one of them is because you can do "summer" type things all year long! Grilling being one of the things. Let's not forget I am from North Dakota- so I often forget we can do it all year round here! However, last night I  dusted off the old grill & YUM YUM YUM is all I can really say about that.

Shrimp Kabobs:
Really anything goes here! I experimented with some cajun seasoning & old bay seasoning. A few kabobs of lemon garlic shrimp and a few of spicy cajun style. Just put all the spices into a large ziploc bag, drop the shrimp in, and shake! All veggies are good grilled (in my opinion) so grab some of your favorites to add in. This was the first time I tried grilling olives & wow they were a hit (my hubby & toddler son liked them the best) so I would definitely recommend them. Tip: to prevent sticking, lightly spray the completed kabobs with an olive oil spray before placing on the grill.

Mmmmm.......

 Grilled Banana Split

SO simple! Place the whole banana on the grill (in the peel) on medium heat for 3-4 min each side (or until golden brown). Slice the banana lengthwise and top with some greek yogurt and your other favorite healthy toppings. We made ours with fresh berries and mango, but next time I want to try some walnuts and maple syrup!

Beat the Cheat: Chocolate Banana Ice Cream

Yes, the title of this blog contains the word ice cream! Okay well its not really ice cream, but I promise you will feel like you are having a cheat treat- because it tastes exactly like ice cream! The perfect (clean-eating) way to satisfy a chocolate craving :)

Ingredients (Single Serving Recipe)
1 Frozen banana
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
1-2 tbsp nonfat milk or unsweetened almond milk

Directions:
Put your frozen banana and all other ingredients into a blender or food processor until smooth. That’s it!  Note: This is NOT something you can put back in the freezer after making. It's strictly a make and serve dish. So make it and eat it!
Alternative: If you prefer, you can just do the banana and milk with a splash of vanilla extract. It’s very similar to vanilla ice cream.

Egg Cupcakes

A quick & healthy grab and go breakfast and/or snack! Added bonus: my toddler loves them!

 8 eggs whisked well
1/2 medium onion chopped
1 cup of broccoli
2 big handfuls of spinach
1/4 green pepper
1/4 red pepper
6-8 slices of COOKED turkey bacon (optional)
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease with olive oil two muffin pans. Whisk all your eggs in a big bowl. Rinse and chop all veggies (small). Chop bacon. Divide evenly between muffin tins. Pour the whisked eggs into the tins, dividing evenly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir the mixture in each tin to disperse it evenly. Bake for bake for 18-20 minutes or until the eggs are set in the middle.


These are great served with sliced avocado and feel free to experiment with other veggies in the mix! :)

*Gluten free & Paleo too!

Enjoy!