Game Day Recipe

Whether you're hosting your friends and family or visiting someone else to watch The Big Game (a.k.a. Superbowl) this Sunday, there's a few things that remain top of mind on this not-quite-a-holiday holiday…football, half-time shows (wardrobe malfunctions?), commercials, and…FOOD!

What are you making?  What are you bringing?

This Crunchy Cauliflower recipe is perfect for Game Day.  It works as a snack, an appetizer, or a side dish.  It's delicious as-is, or can be paired with your favorite dip or sauce if you want to be fancy.  This recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo-friendly, high protein, high fiber, and of course a serving of veggies!  And…it's toddler-approved (actually, toddler-obsessed!).

Crunchy Cauliflower Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 4 T coconut oil, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Chop cauliflower into bite-sized florets.  Place in large bowl.
3. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and paprika. Mix well.
4. Add coconut oil and then beaten egg in the bowl with the cauliflower.  Mix well.
5. Add dry mixture from medium bowl into bowl with the cauliflower and mix until evenly coated.
6. Spread cauliflower evenly onto a greased baking sheet.
7. Bake 7-8 minutes, flip, and bake another 7-8 minutes.  The cauliflower should be crispy and a bit brown on the edges.
8. Eat up!

Happy Friday, everyone!

In health,

Tara

Snack Attack - Pumpkin Pudding

Raise your hand if you're on the pumpkin-everything-until-January bandwagon.

I'm right there with ya!  ;-)  If you answered no, first of all, what's wrong with you?  Kidding!  Or am I?  Regardless, you may know someone (like a child, a spouse, a friend) who DOES love pumpkin everything.  Here's a super-quick, easy, and healthy recipe that works well as a snack, a dessert, a dip for fruit, mixed into oatmeal, under granola, or on top of yogurt.  The kitchen is for creativity!  How do you plan to eat this Pumpkin Pudding?

In an earlier social media post, I promised you guys some nutrition facts.  I think there's a time and place for counting calories, protein, etc.  I don't believe it's for everyone or forever, no matter what your situation is.  I'm a strong believer in listening to your body, balancing hormones, reducing stress and cravings, and eventually being able to be so in tune with your own needs, that there's no food journaling or strict tracking needed.  That being said, it IS helpful sometime.  Example: If you want to start your health journey and have NO IDEA how many calories you take in on a typical day, you may want to track for a few days to get a baseline.  Or, as in this case, I created this recipe custom for a client of mine that has Gestational Diabetes.  She needed something high in protein, high in fiber, low in carbs/sugar, and wanted it very "pumpkin-y".  Haha!  So, here you have it...

• 150 Calories
• 8g fiber
• 12g net carbs
• 11g protein
• 1 full serving of veggies

Pumpkin Pudding

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 4 T peanut flour (a.k.a. powdered peanut butter)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp stevia
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1. This is the easy part - mix all ingredients together in a bowl / mug / cute cup.  That's it!  Enjoy immediately, store in fridge up to 3 days, or freeze and serve at a later date for your holiday party.

Enjoy.  In joy.  In health!

Tara

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ladies and gents, it's November 11th / Veterans' Day... and the end of an interesting week here in America.  Thanksgiving is 13 days away and the temperatures are starting to fall here in NY.  What I'm trying to say is, bring on the soup.  All . the . SOUP!

This Cream of Mushroom Soup is a gluten-free, dairy-free version of the Thanksgiving Day classic.  Not only is it a great side dish to bring or serve for those with special dietary needs, it comes packed with protein and fiber to help you fill you up on the good stuff.  Make extra - you can freeze some to enjoy for a quick dinner when you come home late from holiday shopping. ;-)

This recipe calls for the soup to be pureed into a smooth, creamy consistency, but feel free to keep it "chunky" if you and your guests prefer it that way.  For comfort and toddler purposes, I went with the puree option this time and it worked out well.  

Toddler tip: Magnolia (3 years old now), taste-tested this recipe and helped me "adjust" the spices to her liking.  She also watched me chop the onions and garlic and put her two cents in about when the soup was done blending.  I let her lick the spoon after mixing and once I got the final chef's stamp of approval, I served her the soup over green beans.  All of this involvement requires front-loading of time - more time getting the kiddos involved in the prepping and cooking process will save you time, money, and stress of untouched meals.

Enjoy!

In health,

Tara

Cream Of Mushroom Soup to soothe the soul and enjoy this Thanksgiving!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

(Dairy-free, gluten-free)

Ingredients:

5 cloves garlic, minced

½ medium onion, chopped

2 cups mushrooms, chopped

2 cups chickpeas, cooked

2 cups cashew milk

1 cup coconut flour

2 T coconut oil

1 tsp Thyme

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp pepper

Directions:

1.    In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil, garlic, and onion.  Cook about 3-5 minutes (until onions become translucent).

2.    Add mushrooms and cook another 2-3 minutes.

3.    Add chickpeas, cashew milk, and coconut flour and bring to a boil.

4.    Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.

5.    Add thyme, salt, and pepper.

6.    Use immersion blender to puree (or transfer into regular blender in batches with towel firmly pressed over top of blender to prevent leakage).

7.    Enjoy as is or pour over cooked green beans or other veggies.

*This recipe is high in protein, high in fiber, and low glycemic.