Cilantro-Lime Salad Dressing (Vegan)

This recipe is NOT pretty to look at. But, it tastes fantastic! It is fresh, healthy, and elevates your salad to a new level! This recipe is especially nice as a dip or salad dressing in “Mexican” style or “Tex-Mex” style meals. It could be used as a non-tomato (nightshade free) enchilada sauce, as well.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp real salt
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. This salad dressing is SIMPLE to make and tastes delicious!
2. Rinse and spin dry your cilantro bunch. It pretty much uses an entire bunch of cilantro.
3. Peel your garlic clove.
4. Add all ingredients except the olive oil to a high-speed blender or food process.
5. Whirl.
6. As this mixture is well incorporated, leave the mixture running and add the olive oil while the blender or food processor is on and running. Pour the olive oil into the cilantro/spice mixture slowly and carefully.
7. Enjoy!

TIPS & NOTES:

• If you use organic, natural, real olive oil, this will thicken in the fridge, so plan ahead to remove it well in advance to the time you’re going to be using it to allow it to come to room temperature and being able to shake it well before using.
• There are MANY versions of this recipe. All of them use something like greek yogurt (vegan) or avocado to make this recipe creamy. You can do that. You could also do that with organic silken tofu. But you don’t need to do so. This is GREAT the way it is–it is just another option.
• Great on “Taco” or “Tex-Mex”style salads and casseroles such as nightshade-free enchiladas.
• The bold flavor of this dressing can replace the need for dairy products or dairy substitutes for those who are vegan or need a dairy alternative.
• Pairs well with salad greens, kidney beans, pinto beans, etc.

Sauerkraut Info & Other Healthy Foods

Check out the info here about sauerkraut. One of my favorite uses (albeit a bit unconventional) is in place of a salad dressing! Make a yummy salad with all the stuff in/on it you enjoy eating with your kale/spinach and add a bit of sauerkraut.

Each image below has a tap-thru link to my local market for the items this video author recommends as healthy foods.

Organic Grass-Fed Ground Beef

Faux Tomato Soup (nightshade free)

It is winter. You may want a hot cup of soup on such a cold day but you’re out of tomatoes OR sensitive to nightshades. What’s a gal to do? Make this Faux Tomato Soup substitute for tomato soup. It is warming, nutritious, and tasty! It can also be used as a recipe base such as making 1000 Island Dressing, Ketchup, Sloppy Joes or anything where tomatoes or tomato soup would normally be used.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 cup butternut squash cubes
• 1.5 cups of cut carrots
• .75 cups diced beets
• 3 cups broth
• 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
• salt
• black pepper

METHOD:

1. Saute olive oil, onions and garlic until fragrant.
2. Add beets, carrots, and squash and continue to saute a few minutes.
3. Add broth and vinegar, as well as seasonings and simmer for 30 minutes over medium low heat.

Vegan Orange Tofu

Easy. Tasty. Yum! Similar, but vegan, to orange chicken dishes. Pictured is low carb, served over cauliflower rice. Most of the marinade gets absorbed by the tofu during the soaking process. So double the batch for extra tasty sauce! Include the soaking marinade with the 2nd batch in making your sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

Marinade Ingredients:

• 1 pound firm or extra firm organic tofu.
• 1/2 tsp orange zest
• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice (about 3 oranges)
• 2-3 TBSP Tamari Sauce (wheat-free soy sauce)
• 1-1/2 TBSP rice vinegar
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp freshly-grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  
  Thickener:
• 1 TBSP arrowroot, tapioca flour, or cornstartch
• 1 TBSP cold water
  
  Garnish:
• Optional: Green Onion

METHOD:

1. Press 1 black of extra firm or firm tofu.
2. Freeze tofu.
3. Thaw tofu.
4. Press tofu again.
5. Marinade. Mix together marinade ingredients. Soak tofu in marinade for up to 24 hours in the fridge.
6. Butter or oil the pan. Put tofu into pan over medium heat to sear the tofu.
7. Mix up a second batch of marinade.
8. Place in pan.
9. Make starch and water slurry.
10. Pour it in.
11. Stir.
12. Cook until thick. Serve warm.

Yield: 2 servings

Garnish Suggestion: Top with sliced Green Onions (Scallion) or sesame seeds. Serving suggestion: Serve over rice, cauliflower rice, or noodles of choice.

Orange Sauce

This one is like traditional take-out but you can use it to flavor about a pound of anything-cauliflower or your favorite veggies, chickpeas, or tofu.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup sweetener or its equivalent (brown sugar, maple syrup, serve, etc)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• thickener (1 TBSP starch into 1 TBSP water to make slurry)

1. Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and ginger. Stir and heat until fragrant.
3. Add remaining ingredients except slurry. Heat until simmering.
4. Add slurry. Heat until thickened.
5. Serve.

Every Day Turkey

Paleo Waffles

Epic fail! Totally NOT worth the time, dishes, or ingredients.

2 cups sweet potatoes
1 TBSP chia seeds
3 TBSP water

Combine. Cook in waffle iron.

“Everyone Loves Me” Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This is a conventional recipe, not adapted (yet) to be free of allergens but I suspect it wouldn’t be difficult to do. As it is, this bread is QUICK to make, after all it is a “quick” bread style of bread and delicious. Literally everyone who has tasted it tells me they “love it” (thus the “everyone loves me” in the title. It is also economical. I make a loaf or two every time I’m already going to have the oven on for another purpose. The only negative factor about this bread? It gets eaten up too quickly!

INGREDIENTS:

DRY INGREDIENTS: Mix all of these together well in one bowl.

• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

WET INGREDIENTS: Mix all of these together well in another bowl.

• 1/3 cup oil of choice (melted butter, coconut oil, or vegetable oil of choice) Note: you will also need a small amount of an oil of your choice to coat the pan
• egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk (of choice-dairy, vegan, plant based, etc)

NOTE: This recipe assumes you already have on hand, prepared “cinnamon sugar.” If you do not, then you will need to take 1/3 cup of sugar and mix it together with 2 tsp of cinnamon powder to incorporate it well to use for the cinnamon swirl part of the recipe.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Coat bread/loaf pan with a small amount of oil of choice.
3. Combine, until well incorporated, all of the dry ingredients in one bowl.
4. Combine, until well incorporated, all of the wet ingredients in another bowl.
5. Mix the contents of both bowl together. Don’t over stir. Incorporate by folding only until there are no wet or dry ingredients visibly distinct from the batter.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle prepared cinnamon sugar over the top. Using a knife, “swirl” into the dough the topping. (Optional: before baking, but after “swirl step, top with “streusel” ingredients of chopped nuts of choice and more cinnamon sugar and/or brown sugar, if desired)
7. Bake in 350 oven until a toothpick comes out clean–approximately 45 to 60 minutes. Check as needed. Allow to fully cool before serving.

Sweet Potato Breakfast

This recipe practices my translation skills!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 sweet potato
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• water (to cover walnuts while they soak, and to boil sweet potato)
• salt (pinch)
• pepper (pinch)
• parsley (fresh herb to taste)
• olive oil (drizzle)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Begin by putting some water on to boil.
2. Next start soaking the walnuts.
3. Now prepare the sweet potato. Wash and scrub the exterior. Remove any bad spots, if any. Your choice to peel or leave intact.
4. Slice the sweet potato crosswise into about 1 cm portions.
5. Drop into boiling water.
6. Rinse the walnuts well and dry.
7. Place walnuts into food processor or an s-hook blender.
8. Add a pinch of salt, a pinch of black pepper, 1/4 fresh parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil.
9. Process walnut cream until smooth.
10. Reserve.
11. Test sweet potatoes. They are done when they are fork tender.
12. Serve sweet potato slices alongside walnut cream.

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raegfg07MHc the other 2 recipes weren’t adaptable to suit the dietary needs.

Product Review: HEB Texas Tough Snack-N-Go

Product Link: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-texas-tough-snack-n-go-reusable-containers-with-lids-8-oz/1699479

I purchased this product in hopes of using it with my homemade Nice-Cream (dairy-free ice cream) recipes to have a grab-and-enjoy product, similar to the serving cup sized portions of other single serving ice cream brands. These did not disappoint!

PRODUCT FEATURES:

• BPA Free!
• 6 cups ready to use to portion out your favorite items.
• Suitable lids included.
• Each cup holds up to 8 ounces each.
• Easy to use.
• Easy to wash.
• Reusable.

PROS:

• When using this with my standard 3-cup ice cream maker machine, I found my ice cream maker makes 7 portions. I ate one and froze the other six. If you use this product to store homemade nice cream (non dairy) be certain to allow space for the product to expand while in the freezer.
• The seal on these holds up to freezing.
• The container and lid washes up nicely via hand washing, or the top rack of the dishwasher.
• It is light weight.
• The materials help ice cream thaw while your eating a meal, so if you take out a container and let it sit at room temp while you are eating, it will be ready to eat (no longer solid) by the time you are ready for dessert; or within 15-20 minutes of resting at room temp.
• The seal is sufficient to hold liquids such as dip, vegan mayo, vegan butter, salad dressing.
• Can be used for small portions of left overs.
• Can be used transporting “lunch” to make “DIY Lunchables”
• Not terribly expensive.
• Reusable. Really nice!
• Easy to source, they are freely available at any HEB! Nice!

CONS:

• Really light weight. I wouldn’t trust these to stay in place in the dishwasher. I’m hand washing mine exclusively.
• Price. It would be nice if these were more cost effective. However, compared to the waste of purchasing ice cream (let alone the allergen issues) and the amount of waste there, this is a bit more reasonable if you don’t lose the lids, or have irresponsible room/house mates helping you to not be able to find them again. 🙂