Crispy Avocado, Bacon and Tomato Salad

This is probably my all time favorite salad (right now). Here's where I found the recipe
I prefer the Honey-Lime Dressing. Brandon like the Spicy Ranch. I get the Spring Mix lettuce from Costco. The avocados are the best part of this salad!! (I leave out the bacon)

Ingredients

• FOR THE CRISPY AVOCADO:
• 1 whole Avocado, Semi-firm, Not Mushy
• Pinch Of Kosher Salt And Pepper
• ⅓ cups Flour
• 1 whole Egg Beaten
• ½ cups Panko
• 2 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Olive Oil, For Frying
• FOR THE SALAD:
• Field Greens Or Spring Mix
• Tomatoes
• 2 Tablespoons Shaved Parmesan Cheese
• 2 slices Cooked Bacon, Crumbled
• FOR THE HONEY-LIME DRESSING:
• 2-½ Tablespoons Honey
• 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 3 Tablespoons Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
• Pinch Of Salt And Pepper
• FOR THE SPICY RANCH DRIZZLE:
• ⅓ cups Ranch Dressing
• ½ teaspoons Or More Of Chili With Garlic Sauce (or You Can Use Tabasco Or Sriracha)

Preparation Instructions

For the crispy avocado:
Halve your avocado and run a sharp knife gently around the perimeter of each half to loosen the meat from the skin. Gently remove the skin and the seed. Slice each half into wedges. You should be able to get 8-10 wedges from the avocado, depending on its size. Don’t slice them too thin; you want them to hold up to the breading and frying. Sprinkle the wedges with a bit of kosher salt and pepper.
Place the flour in a shallow bowl. Place the egg (beaten) in another bowl and the panko and Parmesan cheese in another bowl. Dredge each piece in the flour, gently shake off any excess flour. Dip into the egg mixture, then finally into the panko mixture, coating all sides well. Set aside.
Heat your oil in a frying pan. Place just enough olive oil in your pan to just cover the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium high heat until oil becomes hot enough to fry. It usually begins to make a sound once it’s close. Gently set your avocado pieces in the oil. Fry on all sides until browned, a total of about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. Gently remove from the pan, set on a paper towel-lined plate.
For the salad:
Assemble your salad(s) with the greens, tomatoes, shaved Parmesan cheese, and crumbled bacon. Top with crispy avocado.
For the honey-lime dressing:
Combine honey, vinegar, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper in a Mason jar or shaker; shake until fully combined. Adjust to your liking (sweeter or add more vinegar—I went for a sweet flavor). Drizzle over salad.
For the drizzle:
Combine the ranch dressing and chili with garlic sauce (or Sriracha or Tabasco) in a small bowl and mix until fully incorporated. Adjust to your taste. Drizzle over salad.
Enjoy!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

1 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour or 2 cups wonder flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cup water
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 cups fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Combine all the ingredients except raspberries in a large bowl and stir just until combined. Gently fold in the raspberries.

3. Divide mixture evenly in a greased standard muffin tin. (I like to use an ice cream scoop for uniform, mess-free muffins.)

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until slightly golden on top. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from tin.

Lentil Soup

This is a recipe from the Green Smoothie Girls 26 day detox...so yummy. I was surprised how good it was. I accidentally forgot the vinegar and it was great without it.

½ lb. green or red lentils
½ C wild rice, rinsed well
3 large onions, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. salt-free herbal seasoning, or more to taste
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. cumin
1 qt. vegetable broth (no-sodium, if you buy canned)
1 small can tomato sauce
2 tsp. red wine vinegar

Cover lentils and rice with boiling water and let sit for 15 min., then drain. In a large stock
pot, sauté the onions and garlic with the coconut oil and seasonings until the vegetables
are tender. Add the carrots and celery and sauté another 5–10 min. Add the vegetable
broth, tomato sauce, and lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Add
vinegar and serve.

Rumbi Rice Bowl

Ingredients

1T sesame oil
4 carrots peeled and grated
3 celery stalks washed and sliced
2 heads of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
2 zucchini chopped into small cubes
***These amounts are only a start off point. I usually add more than this so we can have it for lunch the next day.

* Thai Peanut Sauce
* Brown rice



Instructions

Heat large skillet on medium hight heat. Add veggies and Sesame oil. Cook until veggies just become tender.

Serve veggies over Brown Rice, topped with Thai Peanut Sauce

Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup

YIELD: SERVES 6-8

Note: You can use regular diced tomatoes if you don't have or can't find petite diced, but if you have the option, go for the petite diced. The smaller size of the tomatoes meshes better with the finely diced vegetables.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 (14-ounce each) cans petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 1 cup finely diced carrots
• 1 cup finely diced onions
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1- 1 1/2 cups cashews or peanuts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Croutons for serving (homemade version here)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a 5-quart slow cooker, combine the tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, oregano, basil, broth, and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours until the vegetables are tender. **Don't be afraid to add more veggies than this calls for
2. Remove Bay leaves. 
3. Ladle in about 3-4 cups of soup into a high powered blender. If you want the soup chunky, ladle in mostly liquid. If you or your kids have problems with lots of veggies, I'd recommend ladling in lots of the veggies.
4. Add about a cup of nuts and blend until smooth. Once blended well, place the soup back in the slow cooker and stir. If you think it needs to be thicker repeat the process, but only add 1/2 cup of nuts. 
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with homemade croutons.

Summer Corn on the Cob Salad

*adapted from authenticsuburbangourmet.com, pictures from andwhatiate.com

- 4 ears corn, cooked
- 2 avocados, diced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (I use orange & red for a little color) 
- 1/2 an english cucumber, finely diced, skin on
- 1/3  C. crumbled feta
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced

Cilantro Vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. salt or Herbamare
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
- 6 tbsp. EVOO

(serves 6-8) 

1. Cook your corn - there are a ton of ways to do this, but the easiest is just to put the oven on 350, and throw the corn in, husks and all. Bake them for 25 minutes, let it cool, and then cut off the very bottom of the corn. You should be able to easily pull off the husks and the silk

2. Cut off the kernels with a large knife, add to a big bowl.

3. Chop the avocados, cherry tomatoes, english cucumber, and red onion, then add to the bowl. Add the feta.

4. For the vinaigrette, combine the first 5 ingredients (so the seasonings react with the vinegar), then add the cilantro and the EVOO. Shake it up.

5. Gently mix all the salad ingredients together. When ready to serve, add the dressing and stir to combine.

Broccoli Bites with dipping sauce

This recipe is by no means dairy free, but is very delicious.  This is from the Unconventional Kitchen. You ladies have probably already seen it but I thought I’d post it just in case and to have it here to reference. We have this and a green salad for dinner and it’s plenty filling. 

Ingredients:

1 lb broccoli, chopped in small bit- sized pieces

1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded (I used mozzarella)

1/2 c. parmesan cheese, shredded 

3 eggs

1 c. almond flour

1 t. oregano

salt & pepper to taste   

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F. Mix all ingredients except for the broccoli in a medium sized bowl.

Next toss in the broccoli. It helps to use your hands to roll the pieces of broccoli in the mixture into little bite sized balls. Place balls on lightly greased parchment paper.

Put them in the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes, or until brown. Serve with the tasty Maple-Dijon Dipping Sauce.

Sauce:

6 T sour cream

2 T pure maple syrup

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T fresh lemon juice

salt to taste

 

Method:

Simply whisk all the ingredients together and you have yourself an awesome sauce. Kids love dipping so that is what makes this sauce extra fun. 

World's Healthiest Pasta Sauce

*from chefambershea.com

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Nut-Free, Oil-Free, Sugar-FreeSoy-Free Variation

Low-Calorie, Low-Fat, Low-Sodium

Per 1-cup: 88 calories, 2.9g fat (trace sat), 12.9g carbs, 3g fiber, 5g protein

Ingredients

• ½ cup vegetable broth or water
• 2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 leek, white and light green part only, cleaned and chopped
• 2 broccoli stems (or ½ cup cauliflower), roughly chopped
• 10 to 12 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
• 6 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 4 large or 6 small carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 package button mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed
• 1 (15-oz.) can black or green olives, rinsed and drained
• 2 jarred roasted red peppers (or 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped)
• 1 medium beet, peeled and chopped (or ½ cup canned beets)
• 1 large, soft Medjool date (or 3 Deglet Noors), pitted and minced
• 1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
• 2 (28-oz.) cans whole peeled tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
• 1 (8-oz.) package organic tempeh (I didn't have any and left it out- still tasted great)
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Spike seasoning (*sub Mrs. Dash or use or sea salt to taste)
• 1 tablespoon Bragg liquid aminos (*or tamari or soy sauce)
• ½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ½ to 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the veggie broth or water over medium heat.
2. Place the onion and leek in a food processor and pulse until finely diced. Transfer to the pot with the broth and put the lid on.
3. Place the broccoli stems (or cauliflower) and garlic in the food processor (there's no need to clean the bowl between all these steps) and pulse until finely diced. Transfer to the pot, stir, and put the lid back on.
4. Place the celery and carrots in the food processor and pulse until finely diced. Transfer to the pot, stir, and put the lid back on.
5. Place the mushrooms in the food processor and pulse until finely diced. Transfer to the pot, stir, and put the lid back on.
6. Place the olives in the food processor and pulse until finely diced. Transfer to the pot, stir, and put the lid back on.
7. Place the red pepper(s), beet(s), date(s), and tomato paste in the food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to the pot and stir.
8. If you bought whole peeled tomatoes, pulse them in the food processor (with their juices) until roughly puréed, then transfer to the pot and stir. If you bought crushed tomatoes, pour them directly into the pot and stir.
9. Crumble the tempeh into small pieces with your hands and stir it into the pot.
10. Add the nutritional yeast to the pot and stir.
11. Add all the seasonings (Italian seasoning, Spike or Mrs. Dash, Bragg aminos, crushed red pepper, and black pepper) to the pot and stir.
12. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes, until all the veggies are completely softened and cooked through and the mixture is reduced/thickened to your liking.
13. At this point, if you didn't use Spike or Mrs. Dash seasoning, you can add sea salt to taste.
14. Remove from the heat, stir in the apple cider vinegar, and serve hot.

Notes

Soy-Free Variation: Replace the tempeh with 1 (15-oz.) can white beans (navy or cannellini beans), rinsed and drained, OR 1½ cups cooked brown/green lentils and omit the Bragg aminos or replace them with coconut aminos or sea salt to taste.

Chef's Tips:
- If you don't have a certain one of the veggies on hand, just leave it out! This recipe is VERY flexible.
- Similarly, if you want to ADD any veggies to this, be my guest! Chopped artichoke hearts or zucchini or yellow squash come to mind as great possible additions.
- One thing I do NOT recommend omitting from this recipe is the can of olives. Yes, even if you despise olives. My husband Matt can't stand them, and he had no idea they were in there—they're chopped to oblivion, so they simply add a salty, briny undertone that's fabulous and irreplaceable. Even if you don't like olives, please leave them in there!