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!

Coconut Oil Honey Almond Granola

This recipe come from Lovely Little Kitchen
I LOVE the almond chunks in this recipe.
When I make this, I triple it. It fits on 2 cookie sheets

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds, divided
• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor or blender, pulse half of the almonds until they are very finely chopped. Pour them into a large bowl. Then chop the other half of the almonds coarsely, and pour them into the same bowl.
3. Pour the oats, salt, and brown sugar into the bowl with the almonds and stir to combine.
4. In a small microwaveable bowl, combine honey and coconut oil, and heat for 40 seconds. Stir to dissolve the coconut oil, and add the vanilla and almond extract.
5. Pour the honey mixture over the oats, and stir so that they are evenly coated.
6. Pour the oats evenly onto a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet (helpful if it has sides).
7. Bake the oats for 5 minutes, and then stir them around. Return to the oven for 5 more minutes.
8. Pour the granola and onto a piece of wax paper to cool. Spread it out into a thin layer.
9. After it cools completely, break the granola into clusters and store in an airtight container.

Fudge

I came across this little gem and I just had to share. It's such a great substitute for candy when you need a chocolate fix.

In blender mix:

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa ( I used raw cocoa powder)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
dash of salt
1 t. pure vanilla

Blend very well.

Then I like to add raw almonds and unsweetened shredded coconut and blend a few times of chop them up. You can anything though. Store in the freezer. 

Best Green Smoothie EVER!

Okay so I'll be honest, I don't love green smoothies. I drink them because they are good for me but I usually try to get them down as fast as I can. Well that was the case until Scott came up with this little concoction  and I have loved them ever since. When the kids had it for the first time they thought they were having dessert. I hope I haven't built this up way too much but I hope you'll try it ladies. I think it's a keeper.

I use the Wide jar with my Blendtec for the recipe and it makes 2 XL glasses and 3 mini ones for the kids. Feeds the whole fam! :)

Stuff blender with LOTS and LOTS of greens. All the way full!
Add a few cups of water
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 T. fresh ginger
1 dropper of stevia
1-2 T. Flax seed
1-2 T. chia seed

BLEND very well!

Add:

Frozen Banana
Frozen Strawberries
Frozen Pineapple

Vu-alla!

Variations:

Substitute banana with half a can of coconut milk

or
Substitute pineapple with an orange

Chia Seed Fruit Salad

Ingredients

1/3 cup chia seeds

2 cups nut milk of your choice

4 cups of diced fruit of your choice

1/4 cup raisins

zest of one orange

juice of one orange

1 tbsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup shredded coconut

mint leaves for decoration

Instructions

1. Add 1 cup diced fruit and sprinkle if raisins to 4 different bowls

2. Combine nut milk, chia seeds, orange juice zest vanilla and cinnamon in a small pitcher and stir.

3. Pour 1/2 cup mixture on top of fruit in bowls.

4. Top fruit bowls with shredded coconut.

5. Refrigerate fruit bowls for at least 30 mins (or overnight).

6. Top each bowl with mint leaf before serving.

Via foodbabe.com

Baked Oatmeal

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup walnuts, toasted + chopped

1 teaspoon baking powder

1.5 teaspoon cinnamon

0.5 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

0.25 cup pure maple syrup

1 egg

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 bananas, sliced

1.5 cup blueberries, or mix of berries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. butter the inside of a square 8-inch baking dish.

2. In a bowl, combine oats, half the walnuts, the baking powder, cinnamon + salt.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, milk, egg, half of the butter + vanilla.

4. Spread a single layer of bananas across bottom of the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle about two-third of the berries on top. Cover all that with the oat mixture then drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Scatter the remaining berries + walnuts over the top.

5. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until top is golden + oats are set. Let cool for a few minutes then drizzle the remaining melted butter + serve. 

*recipe from food52.com

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

6-8 C sweet potatoes, chopped ( about two large sweet potatoes)
1/4 C coconut oil, melted (you can also use olive oil, but the coconut oil gives it a really good flavor)
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. cayenne

1. Chop the sweet potatoes, and peel if you can’t stand peels
2. Melt your coconut oil
3. Add the potatoes, spices, and oil to a large zip loc bag shake them up to coat the fries well.
4. Evenly space the fries on a cookie sheet, make sure they don’t touch
5. Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes. Pull out of oven and flip them. (or optionally put the fries in a cold oven and turn the heat on to 425 covering them with tinfoil for 20 minutes. Take off the tinfoil and continue to cook them)
6. Bake another 15 minutes or until crispy and soft. Does that make sense, I guess cooked all the way through and crispy.
7. Best eaten right away.

This is on of my favorite recipes! I LOVE them!!! I hope you do too.