Strawberry Shortcake!

One thing that is especially tough when you deal with food allergies is the holidays.  It's unfortunate that emotions get so attached to foods, but it's a contributing factor to Americas high obesity populations.

My husbands family lives around an hour away from us while my family literally lives in the same neighborhood, so we are blessed that we can see everyone - parents, grandparents, and siblings in one weekend {with the exception of two...}. 

I found out my MIL was making strawberry shortcake - which I love - and started searching desperately for a soy free, dairy free recipe I could eat that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg with having to buy coconut flour, etc... 

Voila! An easy Bisquick recipe that only required ingredients I had on hand, was easy to substitute, and was fast.  Always a plus! {Here's the link to the original recipe!} 

Strawberry Shortcake 

2 1/3 c Bisquick mix 

1/2 c vanilla coconut milk 

3 tbs organic cane sugar 

3 tbs coconut oil 

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Stir Bisquick mix, milk, sugar, and coconut oil until soft dough forms.  **tip: I'd slightly hear the coconut oil so it's easier to mix!** Drop by 6 spoonfuls into an increased cookie sheet (I used a stone).  

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Split warm shortcakes, fill and top with fresh strawberries.  

I used So Delicious vanilla coconut milk yogurt as my whipped cream because the only recipe I found for DF whipped cream took longer than I had to make, so I had to find a sub.  It was still delicious! 

{Clean} Eating Tacos!

This has been a huge hit in our house! My hubby absolutely loves these.  In fact, he's been bugging me for awhile to get this recipe up on the blog so he can brag about it, haha!

Here goes:

1 lb ground chicken {or turkey/beef - whatever floats your boat!}
1 can 15 oz tomato sauce {no salt added - Hunts makes a yummy one}
1/2 tbs taco seasoning
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs onion powder
1 tbs paprika
1/2 tbs chile powder
1 can whole kernel corn {Libby's makes an all natural version w/no added salt}
1 can low sodium black beans

Brown meat in EVOO, sprinkle of taco seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Using the spices is optional, but we like the extra flavor it adds and it doesn't hurt anything! Drain after cooking.

Mix browned meat, tomato sauce, spices, drained corn and black beans into your pan and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with guacamole, salsa, cheese if desired.  Trader Joes has some excellent clean corn tortillas to eat these in! By clean I mean - corn, lime juice, and water.  Literally, those are the only ingredients.  :)

We like to double the recipe and save some for later in the week!

Enjoy y'all!

{Clean} Sloppy Joe's

I'm always on the search for delicious recipes.  My hubby has ambitious aspirations regarding BBQ, and loves to cook, so he's a hard one to impress.  Especially if the word "healthy" is involved.  I can't blame him; a lot of people feel this way.  They think of bland salads, dry meat, very little flavor.  I'm hear to tell you, {healthy} food doesn't have to taste that way! I'm all about delicious, savory, taste bud exploding flavor in my food.  As I find recipes, I'm tailoring them to meet our families taste and then delivering them to you!

1.25 lb ground turkey

       opt: ~1/4 tsp freshly grated black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic & onion powder when cooking meat

15 oz can {no salt added} tomato sauce - Hunt's makes a great one! 

1/2 c ketchup {preferably as clean as you can find}

1/2 tbs mustard {Dijon is delicious!} 

1 tbs EVOO

1 tbs {ish} pure honey 

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce 

1 tbs red wine vinegar

1 tbs garlic powder 

1 1/2 tbs onion powder

green bell pepper - {1 only use 1/2}

red bell pepper - {I only use 1/2}

Pour EVOO into a skillet, add meat, and brown over medium-high heat.  I also like to throw in a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to my meat when I brown it for added flavor. {note: the measurements above are an estimate, I just grind the pepper/shake the powder over the meat and eyeball it.  it doesn't take a lot!} 

Drain the meat, then pour it back into the pan.  Add the rest of the ingredients in, and stir until it's all mixed up really well.  Allow to simmer for 15-20 min to allow the flavors to really soak through.  

Obviously, if you're wanting to eat as clean as possible you'll want to hunt up as clean of a hamburger bun as possible.  Trader Joe's, Sprouts, and Central Market are fabulous places to find clean breads.  

Enjoy!

adapted from: the gracious pantry.  

{Clean} Spaghetti Sauce

I went to make dinner tonight, and realized we badly need to go shopping and restock.  It was kind of ridiculous.

I scrambled and immediately starting searching Pinterest for a recipe I could use that didn't require hours in a crock pot! I was able to find one pretty quick {luckily}, had all the ingredients, and adapted it to fit our particular tastes.  So, without further adieu, my first {featured} recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 jar {28 oz} diced tomatoes 
• 1 jar {8 oz} tomato paste 
• 1/2 can {15 oz} pumpkin 
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano 
• 1 tsp basil 
• 1 tsp sea salt {or kosher, that tasted great!} 
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 3/4 - 1 tsp crushed red peppers {I'm actually guesstimating on this measurement bc I added to taste!}
• 1/2 - 3/4 tsp Italian seasoning {also guesstimating... I tend to add until I like the flavor, haha!}

Puree diced tomatoes and pour into sauce pan.  {I like to do this, because I hate chunky tomatoes in my sauce.  You are welcome to skip this step!} Mix remaining ingredients into sauce pan, and let sit on medium high until it starts to bubble. Stir, and lower to simmer.  Let sit for an additional 10-15 minutes.  

Optional: you can brown ground turkey beforehand and mix with your sauce.  We added Earth's Best Mini Meatballs to ours {since we had no meat}, and it was delish! 

Serve over pasta {we used whole wheat linguine}.  Enjoy! 

Adapted from The Naked Kitchen.