blog recipe #47 of 365 baked apples

Hello everyone!! its treat day!! As a very smart lady I know always says treat dont cheat!! Today is baked apples 8) They are so good! Its like having apple pie without the "pie"  Apples are really good for you, but alot of us struggle with getting them into us!  What if i told you that apples help with preventing dementia, lung and colon cancer, helps lower cholesterol and helps aid in weight loss.  Lets eat up I say! 
This recipe is definitely quick and easy, but also fun to make! And it is kid approved!
It is also dairy free, gluten free, and paleo approved!

Baked Apples

Preptime: 5mins  Cooktime: 30mins

2-4 Apples (cut in half and cored)

1 Tbsp shredded coconut

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325  ͦ F

Add a little bit of honey to the empty core (approx. 1 tsp), then add the coconut until the empty core is full.

Bake in the oven for 30 mins.

Drizzle with left over honey and sprinkle cinnamon on top.  Serve.

blog recipe #46 of 365 coconut bisciuts

Hey everyone!! today was a long exhausting day, so I wanted to make something quick and easy! This biscuit recipe is awesome!! you can eat them with soup, use them to make egg mcmuffins, eat them warm with nut butter, I even use them for hamburger buns!! (I just make them a little larger for this)  Whats great about these other then them being delicious, quick, easy, and versatile is the fact that they are very healthy, high in nutrients, but also gluten free and dairy free!!! 
If your cant find quinoa flour, you can make it! its very easy, you just take the quinoa and put it into a food processor (ie. magic bullet)  Blend until it becomes a flour like texture!


Enjoy!

Coconut Biscuits

Preptime: 10mins  Cooktime: 10-15mins

4 Tbsp coconut flour

4 Tbsp quinoa flour

4 Tbsp coconut oil (melted)

4 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350  ͦ F

In a medium bowl mix together the coco flour, quinoa flour, and baking powder.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg and oil.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture until fully blended.  Form together the size of dough ball you would prefer (they only rise a small amount, so make it the size you want it to be once cooked).

Let cool for a few mins before serving.

blog recipe #45 of 365 Spinach Fruit Salad

Hello everyone! hope you all had a great weekend!! 
Tonight I made one of my favorite salads!!! It is so crisp, refreshing and easy to make! I always eat it with raspberry vinaigrette, but I am always hesitant to buy dressings! they make me uncomfortable obviously because they are going to have to have some kind of preservative for the shelf life. I started making my own dressings a few years ago, but have never tried to do a raspberry dressing! so tonight I gave it a whirl 8) It turned out awesome!!! which is very exciting for me! The only one I have left to try to figure out now is the ginger dressing 8) (stay tuned for that.....It will happen)
This recipe is gluten free and dairy free!! 
Happy Cooking

Spinach Fruit Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Preptime: 10-15mins

2-3 cups of Spinach

½ cup Strawberries (chopped)

½ cup Blueberries

½ cup Blackberries

½ cup Kiwi (peeled and sliced)

Dressing

½ cup Raspberries

1 Tbsp Avocado or Coconut oil (melted)

1 Tbsp Red wine or Raspberry vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

½ Tbsp Agave nectar

In a large bowl, mix together the spinach and berries.  Set aside.

For the dressing, puree the raspberries.  Whisk the pureed raspberries, oil, vinegar, mustard and agave nectar until smooth/ well blended. (a magic bullet works awesome for this)

Pour dressing over the salad.  Serve immediately.

blog recipe #44 of 365 Stuffed Peppers

Hello everyone! welcome back to another night of blogging food 8) Tonight I made stuffed peppers! These are so much fun!! and versatile! you can put any combo of veggies and meat into them.  And because they hold so much, you generally only need one and your full! Feel free to play around with the spices too!
This recipe is gluten free, leave out the cheese to make it dairy free 8)

Stuffed Peppers

Preptime: 15mins  Cooktime: 40mins

4 Peppers

1 Package of ground meat of choice (1 lbs)

1 Cup cooked rice

¼ Cup finely chopped zucchini

¼ Cup finely chopped onion

¼ Cup finely chopped celery

1 clove of finely chopped garlic clove

¼ Cup shredded mozza

1 Tbsp basil

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp turmeric

Preheat the oven to 375  ͦ F

Meanwhile in the medium pan add the ground meat and basil.  Cook thoroughly.

Chop the top of the peppers off, clean out the inside of them and set aside.  Finely chop the remaining part of the peppers.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the cooked meat, cooked rice, zucchini, onion, celery, garlic, leftover peppers, mozza, turmeric and pepper.

Scoop the mixture into the peppers, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 mins.

Remove from the oven and serve.

blog recipe #43 of 365

Hello everyone 8)
I have had lots of requests for a homemade proteins bars!! so tonight's recipe is exactly that!!  Dont let the ingredients list intimidate you! It is quick and easy to make! Feel free to use any extras or substitute any of the ingredients for others that you prefer.  I sometimes like to put in raisins and dark chocolate chips!  I know I havent been specifying, but I do recommend as many if not all ingredients to be organic!! That way you can be assured that there are no chemicals, pesticides, hormones or anything artificial!!   Enjoy!!!
This recipe is not gluten free, but is dairy free 8)

Protein Bars

Preptime: 12mins  Cooktime: 20mins

1 cup Oats (not quick) 

1 cup Whole wheat flour(or flour blend ex. spelt and coconut)

2/3 cup Coconut

1cup Earthbalance butter

3 Tbsp Honey 

3 Tbsp Maple syrup

1 Tbsp Ground flax

1 Tbsp Sunflower seeds

1 Tbsp Hemp seeds

2 Tbsp Almond butter

Protein powder (2 scoops)

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Baking soda

1 tsp Baking powder

Preheat oven to 325  ͦ F

In a medium bowl, mix together oats, flour, cinnamon, coconut, flax, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, baking powder and protein powder.

In a sauce pan heat the butter, honey, maple syrup and almond butter until butter is melted.  Add the baking soda.

Pour the butter mixture into the oats mixture and mix well.  Press firmly into a greased 9x9 bake pan.  Bake in the oven for 20mins until set and golden.  Cool before cutting into squares.

blog recipe #42 of 365

Hello everyone!
Tonight I was being alittle brave, and tried something a little bit different! I invented salmon tacos!  I had left over salmon but wasnt sure what I wanted to do with it, and I had a huge craving for homemade salsa 8) sooooo I decided to throw them together and make tacos!! It was a very interesting combo, I really liked it....hopefully you do to
To make this recipe use brown rice wraps, and to make it dairy free try soy alternatives (but if you want my option try with out dairy and soy, its healthier and still very delicious)

Salmon Tacos with Citrus Salsa

Preptime 20mins Cooktime: 20mins

2 filets of salmon

2-4 tortillas

¼ cup grated mozza

2-4 Tbsp organic sour cream (optional)

½ cup spinach

1 tomato

2 tomatillos

1 small jalapeno

1 orange pepper

1 Tbsp grapefruit

1 Tbsp orange

2 Tbsp onion

2 cloves of garlic

Juice of half a lemon

½ Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375  ͦF

Place salmon on baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 mins or until cooked.

Chop tomato, tomatillos, jalapeno, orange pepper, grapefruit, orange and garlic.  Mix together in a medium bowl with the lemon and olive oil.

In a tortilla add the cooked salmon, salsa, spinach and any extras such as the mozza and sour cream (optional).

Repeat for any additional tortilla.

blog recipe #41 of 365

Good evening everyone!!!
Tonight I made my Favorite salad!!  My favorite for so many reasons!! Its packed with tons of nutrients! Low in calories, and high in healing properties! The lemon as we all know is an amazing fruit, very high in vitamin C, and in antiseptic properties.  Of course the garlic we all know to be healing, garlic contains antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal agents! It helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol.  I could keep going.....but you get the point ;) The best part is it compliments almost any dish!
It is gluten free, but not dairy free....You could leave the feta off for dairy free!
Happy Cooking

Greek Salad

Preptime: 15 mins

2 cups of spinach

½ red onion

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 medium cucumber

1 cup grape tomatoes

½ cup feta

½ cup of kalamata olives (optional)

1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)

1 lemon (juice)

1 Tbsp avocado oil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp pepper

Chop onion, peppers, and cucumber into medium sized chucks (or sliced if preferred).

Slice tomatoes in half. 

In a large mixing bowl mix together, spinach, onion, peppers, cucumber, tomatoes and the feta.

In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon juice, garlic, oil, oregano and pepper until blended well. 

Pour dressing over the salad, add olives (optional) and serve.

blog recipe #40 of 365

Hello everyone 8)
Tonight your in for a real treat!!! for anyone who like balsamic vinegar that is!!! I love roasted veggies but they were lacking a little something, I came across a recipe that had the veggies tossed in balsamic vinegar!  So I thought I would create my own spin (as usual).
Feel free to use any veggies! I used fennel, beets, onion, garlic, sweet potato, carrots, zucchini, and mango.  It was awesome 8)

Balsamic Roasted Veg

Preptime: 10mins  Cooktime: 45mins

2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp Coconut oil

½ Tbsp Basil

½ Tbsp marjoram

½ tsp cayenne pepper

2-3 cups of chopped veggies of choice

½ cup of chopped pineapple or mango

Preheat oven to 400  ͦF

Mix vinegar, oil and spices in a bowl.  Add veggies to the vinegar mixture.

Pour into a baking dish, and bake in the oven for 30-40 mins or until veggies are tender.  Mix in the fruit and serve.

blog recipe #39 of 365

Hello my friends 8)
I am a HUGE lover of carrot cake, as equal as my love for chocolate!!! Until recently, I had no idea how many calories was in a serving of carrot cake........It is a whopping 574 calories a serving!!! That scared me and really bummed me out! In all the recipes I looked up called for 1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil 8(
With that said I have made it my mission to recreate a healthier version, with way less calories.  Tonight was the first night I have tried, and I managed to have some success, and it tastes great! however it was alittle crumbly, so I am thinking it needed alittle more avocado... so I added it to the recipe below. If anyone has any other suggestions I am all ears!! 
With the recipe below, I have managed to bring the calorie content down to 314 calories per serving with the icing, and 204 calories per serving without the icing!!!! That is a HUGE difference 8) 
I hope you all enjoy the healthier version
To make this recipe gluten free, try using amaranth flour, coconut flour, quinoa flour (one or all of these) equivalent to what the recipe calls for.  You will have to use xantham gum for a binding agent though.  And to make dairy free, use tofu instead of the cream cheese 8)
Happy Cooking

Carrot Cake

Preptime: 20mins  Cooktime: 40-50mins

Cake:

1 ½ cup spelt flour

½ cup coconut flour

4 eggs

3 cups carrots (grated)

3 Tbsp honey

4 Tbsp coconut oil

2 avocados (pitted and blended creamy)

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Icing:

3 Tbsp earthbalance butter

4 Tbsp organic cream cheese

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350  ͦ F

In a medium bowl, beat egg, oil, avocado, honey, and vanilla.

In a second bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.  And the flour mixture to the egg mixture.

Next mix in the carrots, and pecans until mixed well.

Pour mixture in a 9x9 oiled cake pan.  Bake for 40-50 mins.

For the Icing mix butter, cream cheese, honey and vanilla with a hand blender until smooth and creamy.

Once the cake is done, let cool for 20 mins.  Place the icing on top of the cake.  Serve.