Fruit Pizza (Cheat Day)

Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cold butter

1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fruit of your choice: strawberries, mandarin orange slices, pineapple, kiwi, blueberries

Glaze

5 teaspoons cornstarch
1-1/4 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine flour and confectioners' sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press onto an ungreased 12-in. pizza pan. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over crust. Arrange your fruit of choice on top.

For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, pineapple juice and lemon juice until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly. Drizzle over fruit. Refrigerate until chilled.

Pizza Crust

This past weekend I competed in a CrossFit Competition and one of my fellow crossfitters insisted on having pizza after the competition and well why not? Here is a paleo version that is pretty darn good!

1 head cauliflower

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

Preheat oven at 350 F. Grease a large cookie sheet or pizza pan with butter. Place parchment paper on top of greased up pan. Now grease the top of your paper- it will be a greasy top.

Clean your cauliflower. Drain and make sure it is not wet. Shred by hand in your grater or pulse it in your food processor (I just grated the cauliflower on my box grater). If you pulse in your food processor you want very small pieces throughout with the consistency of rice. You want 4 full cups of cauliflower for this recipe.

Place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 3 to 5 minutes depending on your microwave (with no water). Let cool, strain out any extra liquid if any. Mix your cauliflower with the egg, and spices and salt.

Place 1-2 heaping balls of your mixture on your parchment paper- depends on if you want 1 or 2 pizzas.

Press out by hand and mold your pizza around ¼ “ thick. Make a slight “lip” around the edge to hold your filling in if you’d like. Bake approximately 35-45 minutes.

Add your sauce and toppings. I used tomato paste for my sauce and topped my pizza with ham, mushrooms, pineapple and pepperoni. You can add whatever toppings you like. Place back in the oven for 4 to 6 minutes to heat toppings. Add cheese if you are not going 100% paleo.

Enjoy! Recipe from Paleo Gluten Free Recipes. 

Grilled Lemon Dill Chicken

4 chicken breasts
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dill weed
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt

Flatten the chicken breasts with meat tenderizer or rolling pin. This will allow the marinade to penetrate faster and the chicken to cook faster. Place chicken in a bowl or container and add the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly to coat the chicken. Let the chicken marinade for a minimum of 15 minutes up to an hour. In the mean time heat grill to medium heat. Place chicken on heated BBQ and cook for 7 - 10 minutes or until no longer pink in the center. Serve with grilled vegetables. 

Vitamin D - Get some!

There has recently been a lot of hype and information surrounding Vitamin D. So I thought I would provide you a little information. Below is a brief primer on the subject that hopefully covers many of the bases with regards to this essential vitamin.

Please note: This is not medical advice. Always consult your family physician before taking any drug or dietary supplement.

So what is vitamin D? Surprise, it’s not really a vitamin at all.  It’s a prohormone or hormone precursor like cortisol, estrogen, and testosterone, it’s derived from cholesterol molecules.

How do I get it? Humans make vitamin D in the bottom two layers of the skin in a photochemical reaction driven by a narrow band of UV light. This means the most significant source is sunlight.

How do I become deficient? Generally, most people start healthy. Those of us in climates and latitudes with longer winters and the possibility of extended cloud cover (and 9-6 office jobs) can take a few months of darkness to become vitamin D deficient. It’s difficult to stay topped up in the midst of a Canadian fall, winter and spring (and summer?), especially if you spend seven days a week inside.

What’s the vitamin D sold in stores? When you take vitamin D orally, you usually take vitamin D3 as cholecalciferol. It’s absorbed in the gut, carried into the blood, and then makes its way to the liver.

Why should I be interested in vitamin D? First of all, it strengthens your immune system. It also decreases risk of serious and common autoimmune disorders like Type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.Vitamin D replacement improves insulin sensitivity, the ability to secrete insulin, as well as hypertension. Currently, while vitamin D deficiency does increase the likelihood of diseases of civilization, it’s not seen as a primary cause. A ton of studies show that exposure to UV light and in some cases vitamin D intake are inversely related to the risk of common cancers, including colon, breast, prostate, esophagus and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Where can I get some vitamin D? You can get more than 80 percent from sunlight. It’s the only natural source of any significance. General guidelines suggest that getting whole-body sunlight between 10 and noon for 20 minutes is equivalent to oral dosing with 10,000 IU.

How much do I need? The new guidelines recommend daily supplements of 400 to 1000 IU for adults under age 50 without osteoporosis or conditions affecting vitamin D absorption. For adults over 50, supplements of between 800 and 2000 IU are recommended. 

How much should I take? If you’re out in the sun a lot, then 5,000 IU daily should maintain. If you’re low, you’ll need to take much more. Get a test to know for sure, every 3-6 months.

Any other benefits? For sure! I’ll leave you with just two: some research shows that having optimal vitamin D levels may reduce your likelihood of getting sunburnt. And, vitamin D will help you with your gains in the gym. It has been shown as long ago as the 1950s that exposure to UV radiation increases strength. It was also noted that trainability and performance peaked in late summer and was lowest in mid-winter.

Banana Bread

So far I've given you a cheat day banana bread recipe, now here is a paleo option!

4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup coconut oil or grass-fed butter, melted
4 free-range eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup organic coconut flour 
1 heaping tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
optional add-ins: 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, slivered almonds, raisins, etc.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine bananas, coconut oil, eggs and vanilla. Combine until well mixed. In a separate bowl combine cinnamon, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until well incorporated. 

Pour into a lightly greased (use coconut oil or butter for greasing) bread pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until center is set and top is golden.

Often times paleo baking can be dry but this is far from that. This bread is moist and delicious.

Recipe from my friend Ashlyn via Primally Inspired

Shepherd’s Pie

Topping
3 large parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 medium turnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 tbsp grass-fed butter
sea salt

Filling
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, cleaned and diced
1 pound ground beef or lamb (I used beef!)
1 can tomato paste
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup beef stock
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley
Sea salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place parsnips and turnips in a medium saucepan, add enough salted water to cover about one inch over the parsnips/turnips. Boil over medium-high heat until they are soft, about 15-20 minutes. Drain. Add the butter and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

While parsnips and turnips cook, add ground beef to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stock and spices. Let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until vegetables are soft and the flavors have a chance to meld together. Add the vinegar and mix thoroughly. 

Place beef mixture in a casserole dish. Spoon parsnip/turnips on beef mixture and smooth over the top.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until the beef is bubbly.

Recipe adapted from CrossFit Carbon

Spiced Nuts

3/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup pecans
3/4 cup cashews
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Place nuts in a large skillet over medium heat.Toast until lightly browned. While nuts are toasting, prepare spice mixture. Combine chili, cumin, black pepper and salt in a small bowl. Coat nuts with olive oil, then coat with spice mixture. Enjoy!

You can make several different variations with different combinations of nuts and spices. 

Classic Spinach Dip (Cheat Day)

This is super simple and always a crowd pleaser!

1 package Knorr® Vegetable Dry Soup Mix
2 cups sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, and squeezed dry
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 large round pumpernickel bread loaf

Combine Knorr® Vegetable Dry Soup Mix and all other ingredients, except pumpernickel, and chill about 2 hours.

To make pumpernickel bread “bowl” hollow out centre of pumpernickel loaf. Slice bread from centre into cubes and set aside. Fill with spinach dip, and serve with fresh vegetables, pumpernickel bread cubes or potato chips.

Coconut Green Thai Curry

3 chicken breasts, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 - 3 tbsp green curry paste (I used Thai Kitchen from Sobey's)
1 can coconut milk
2 cups mixed vegetables (broccoli, snow peas, carrots, cauliflower, celery) - I used a bag of stir fry mix from Sobey's
Bean sprouts
Lime wedges

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. remove the chicken and the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.

Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil in the same pan, add the green curry paste and cook for 1 minutes. Slowly add the coconut milk and whisk together. Continuing mixing until the curry paste has been incorporated. Add the vegetables and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the chicken and mushrooms back to the pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes. 

Serve on top of bean sprouts and with a lime wedge.

Ropa Vieja

Ropa vieja literally means "old clothes" in Spanish. The name describes the shreds of meat and vegetables which resemble colorful strips of rags. This Cuban beef stew is hearty enough to eat on its own.

1 lb flank steak, cut into 1/3
1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups of stock (any kind)
2 handfuls of green, pimento stuffed, olives
1 yellow onions, sliced in ½ moons and then into strips
2 red peppers, sliced into strips
2 tbsp olive juice
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
hot sauce, to taste
salt and pepper

Dump all the ingredients into a medium sized pot (anything you have with high sides that will fit a lid). Place the stove heat on medium, cover with the lid and let simmer for 1 hour. Remove the lid and simmer for another hour. You’re looking for beef that’s easily shredded. Take out the beef pieces and place onto a cutting board. Use two forks (one to hold the meat in place and the other to shred) to pull, (against the grain of  the meat) it into nice, thin shreds. Put the shredded beef back into the pot. Stir it around and serve. 

Dijon Pork Skillet

1 lb ground pork
8 oz mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 cups grated sweet potato
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp basil
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground pork and the spices. Break the meat into pieces and brown the meat. Once cooked remove from skillet.

Add 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Add the mushrooms and sweet potato and cook for 7 - 8 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the meat back to the skillet and combine.  Add Dijon mustard and heat through. Season to taste.

Recipe from Living Low Carb

Brown Butter, Lemon & Bacon Broccoli

This is my 100th post! Thanks for all of your support and interest with my blog!

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
6 pieces of bacon, chopped
1 portobello mushroom, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable stock
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tbsp butter
Zest and juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper

Being by browning bacon in large frying pan. Add mushrooms to bacon, when bacon is about halfway cooked. When the mushrooms have softened and the bacon is cooked, add the chopped broccoli and vegetable stock. Allow to cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until all vegetable stock has been evaporated. Remove vegetables and bacon from frying pan. 



Add butter to hot pan and allow to brown. Once melted the butter will foam up a bit, then subside. Watch carefully as lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan. Smell the butter; it should have a nutty aroma. Add garlic and lemon zest. Stir for 1 minutes. Add the vegetables and bacon back to the pan. Add the lemon juice and stir. Season with salt and pepper. 

Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemon Scones

1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 tbsp coconut oil (melted, slightly cooled)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1 tbsp honey (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I didn't have any parchment today as such I greased the pan with coconut oil, they did stick slightly but would be a possible option).

In a large bowl mix together almond flour, lemon zest, baking, soda, salt.

In a small bowl slightly beat the egg, vanilla, coconut oil, lemon juice, honey with a whisk/fork.

Add to dry ingredients and stir until incorporated.  Add strawberries

Using a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, drop onto lined parchment paper. Cook for 14-18 minutes until golden brown on top (do not overcook, color should just be slightly golden). Cool on wire rack about 10 minutes to allow everything to come together.

Recipe from Baking with Balance

Moroccan Burger with Grilled Eggplant and Pickled Red Onion

Moroccan Burgers
2 lb ground beef
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp all spice
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cardamom
1 egg
1 tbsp coconut flour

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Form into burgers grill for 4-5 minutes per side over medium heat for a medium burger or longer if you want it cooked through more. Makes approximately 6 - 8 burgers depending on how big you make them.

Grilled Eggplant
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2" thick rounds
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

Drizzle slices of eggplant with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place eggplant on a hot grill and grill for about 15 minutes, turning once.

Quick Pickled Red Onions
1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 tsp honey
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup water

Whisk vinegar, honey, salt and water in a small bowl until salt dissolve. Place onion in a bowl; pour vinegar mixture over. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

To assemble burger, top beef with sliced tomato, lettuce grilled eggplant and pickled onions. Enjoy!

Moroccan Burger topped with grilled eggplant and pickled red onions

Recipe adapted from Everyday Paleo

Summer in Saskatoon

Good morning!

I would like to begin by saying thank you to everyone that reads and follows this blog. I have been receiving some wonderful comments about the recipes and information that I have been posting. This has been a big learning experience for me. I have loved spending time in the kitchen, researching and creating new and different recipes. If you have any suggestions or recommendations for new recipes, please let me know!

After a long cold winter summer has finally arrived in Saskatoon! Summer tends to be short and as such we have to embrace the nice weather when it arrives. Summer means more time spent outside, spending time with friends and of course doing lots of CrossFit. I have additionally started coaching boot camps this summer for CrossFit Brio and I am pumped! It's going to be a great summer.

So why am I telling you this? I am not going to be able to post recipes everyday over the summer but I will be posting three to four days a week.

Thanks again for all your support!

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a Spanish-style soup made from tomatoes and other vegetables and spices, served cold. This is a to-die-for summer dinner.

2 cloves garlic, minced
½ whole red onion, diced
1 whole large cucumber, diced
5 whole roma tomatoes, diced
1 whole zucchini, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 dash sea salt to taste
4 cups tomato juice
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
⅛ cup apple cider vinegar
6 dashes Tabasco
1 dash black pepper to taste

In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic with half the red onion, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the zucchini, half the celery, half the tomato juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, Tabasco, and a dash of salt. Pulse until all ingredients are blended well; mixture will have a nice speckled, colorful texture.

Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the tomato juice, and the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, and celery. Stir mixture together and check seasonings, adding salt if needed. Chill soup for at least a couple of hours; soup needs to be very cold!

Remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with a sliver of fresh avocado or chopped cilantro. 

Recipe from the Pioneer Woman

Horchata Cupcakes (Cheat Day)

My friend Nat came to spend the weekend with me and nothing reminds me more of her than horchata. So together we made these horchata cupcakes. They were simply decadent!

Horchata is a traditional Mexican beverage made with rice. It is flavored with lime and cinnamon and sweetened with sugar. Originally horchata was made with the chufa nut and sometimes melon or squash seeds. The rice, nuts or seeds are ground and mixed with water to make a milky looking drink. Since it does not contain milk, it will not spoil as easily as a dairy containing beverage. The origins of this drink stem from Egypt where they originally used the chufa nut to make horchata. During ancient times, the drink made its way to Spain. When the Spaniards brought the drink to Mexico, the natives used rice to make the drink.

Horchata is easy to make but you do need to start the day before you plan to make cupcakes because it needs to soak overnight. Fortunately the prep work is less than 5 minutes!

Horchata
1/2 cup uncooked rice
2 cups water
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp ground almonds
1 whole cinnamon stick
1/3 cup sugar

Mix all ingredients in a pitcher. Let it soak overnight. Blend the mixture to break up the rice (it won’t blend all the way). Strain the mixture and throw away the rice. Your horchata is ready!

Horchata Cupcakes (~12 cupcakes)
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups  flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup fresh Horchata
1 egg
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350*. Cream together the butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the egg and egg white to the butter mixture.  Alternately add the flour mixture and horchata to butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until combined. Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full and bake for 22 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test.

Horchata Frosting
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp fresh horchata
dash of salt

Cream together the butter and shortening. Add in the salt. Slowly add the horchata. You can choose to add it gradually as you add the powdered sugar. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, allowing each cup to be mixed in before adding the next. After you frost the cupcakes, sprinkle some cinnamon on top. Ole!