Stir It Up!

Hey guys! I am so sorry I’ve been MIA but as you all know, this is SUCH a crazy time of year!! And, in case you want to add to your incredibly busy schedule (thank goodness summer is almost here!) I did want to let y’all know about the next few Wednesday night meetings from 7:00-8:00pm at the Atlanta Center for Holistic and Integrative Medicine.

This Wednesday 22nd – I will be bringing in and discussing the main things I cook with, bake with, season with, as well as substitutions (e.g. arrow root for flour). I will educate on what and why I use what I use so you will be able to fill your pantry and be ready to cook just about any healthy meal (at least most of the ones on this blog).

Next Wednesday 29th – We’ll cover a range of topics.  How to order healthy when eating out.  Some of my favorite resturants. How to deal with pressure at social events. I will also talk about other health issues like being alkaline versus acidic and will also touch on our stress hormones and how they affect us.

Lastly, Wednesday June 5th – This will be a make-up from last Wednesday’s class. I will be going into more depth regarding allergies, intolerances and how it’s affecting our country and our families. It should be very educational!

Please call 404-814-9808 to register. The cost is $50 per event. 

Next month we will focus on kids! I am excited about those and will be sure to give y’all details in case you want to attend.

Okay, on to the food!! By the way, did anyone make those paleo Reece’s cups? Oh my goodness they are amazing, aren’t they?

So for dinner the other night we had Lamb meatballs with Lemon Cumin yogurt and they were really good! Honestly though, I’m still not sure where on land on the lamb side of things. Some people love it and claim it’s their favorite piece of meat, and well, others can’t stand it.  I go back and forth. While I’m really starting to enjoy it more, I do think it might be a bit of an acquired taste. Regardless of whether you like it or not, you could make these meatballs using ground lamb, or beef and I think they would be good either way. I’m not sure if the yogurt would go as well with the beef but it did make these meatballs. They wouldn’t have been the same without it!

It was certainly different from our every day meals but I enjoyed the change thoroughly. I hope you like it too!

Happy weekend everyone! So first, I have recently made a couple of revisions to one of my favorite soups and wanted to share that with you. I now make it without celery (sometimes) since it makes it a little sweeter and more sweet potato like. I also add about 1/2 cup of coconut milk. Mmmm. It’s actually even creamier than before, and especially when I use the Vitamix. I love this soup!

If you would like to try it for yourself (warning, last plug coming), come see me this Wednesday in Brookhaven at ACHIM at 7:00  to learn more about nutrition, how you can feel your best, and enjoy sample a few healthy treats.  If you haven’t already reserved a spot don’t worry, just call 404-814-9808 early in the week or, you can even  just show up! I would love to see you! Did I mention if you bring a friend, you get in for free?!

Okay, no more plugs, I promise!!  I feel so cheesy doing that, but I kind of have to, right?

So now for the fun stuff.  This new treat was enjoyed by all. My husband literally was groaning as he was eating it. Don’t tell him I told you that though, seriously. And the kids were begging for it! Oh my goodness, they were  sooo good!!!

Here is what you need to make these amazing Paleo Reece’s Cups:

• 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (WF’s 70% cacao)
• 1 cup of Almond Butter (TJ’s creamy with sea salt)
• 1/2 cup of coconut oil (melted)
• 1/3 cup of dark raw honey
• 1/2 tsp of celtic salt
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla
• silicone liners (thank you Alex!)

Start putting your cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. Next, melt the chocolate chips in pan on low with about 1 tbsp coconut oil. Then take a tbsp sized dollop of melted chocolate and put it in the bottom of the silicone liners. Use the spoon to coat the bottom and sides of the liners by spreading the chocolate around the cups. Be sure to go about halfway up the sides of the silicone liners. Then place the pan in the freezer to harden while you prepare your nut butter filling.

In a medium bowl, mix together the almond butter, honey, coconut oil, salt and vanilla and mix well.  Once the chocolate cups are hard, then add about 2 tsp of nut butter mixture in each cup. Then place back in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes or until frozen.

Then reheat your chocolate in the pan, if needed, and cover each cup evenly. Put back in the freezer for about 15 more minutes, if you can wait that long, and then enjoy! Store in the fridge or freezer the remaining cups…if there are any!

Is your mouth watering yet??

I never said they weren’t messy…

I also made some without the chocolate on the bottom and they were just as good  and actually a little easier to eat. Those were my favorites. I’m warning you though, these things are crazy good!!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Sometimes I have people ask what we eat for meals. So, today for lunch Tate had last night’s leftovers which consisted of grass-fed ground beef, cumin, some celtic salt and a jar of salsa. I also used organic blue corn taco shells because blue corn is less likely to trigger allergies (with kids) than regular yellow corn and it’s organic, to ensure that it’s not GMO. Easy enough!

Oh my goodness that big open smile. Did I ever tell y’all the story of how my (at the time ) newly 4-year-old got (or forced) a “loose tooth”, just like his sister and cousin. Oh Tater…

For dinner tonight, we used our Costco organic chicken that I cut up, and added these flavors to it:

Here is the list of what you will need for your Lime Coconut Chicken:

• 1.5-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• zest of 1 lime
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp tamari gluten free soy sauce
• 2 tsp celtic salt
• 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar (or honey)
• 1 tsp curry powder (or 2 tsp, depending on preference)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (I used the light)
• pinch cayenne
• coconut oil for cooking
• fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

Cut up your chicken, add everything listed above except for the cilantro, and let marinate in a zip lock bag for at least a few hours in the refrigerator.

I let mine sit all day but then came home in between kids sporting activities (so for 20 minutes) and quickly cooked this on my cast iron skillet with some coconut oil. I put about 1-2 tbsp of oil in the hot pan, then added the chicken. Once the chicken was well seared and mostly cooked, I then poured in the rest of the sauce to heat it up for a couple of minutes.

Everyone ate it and no one complained, which is always a win in my book…

Original recipe credit to Chaosinthekitchen.com.

Also, please don’t forget to sign up for next Wednesday’s May 8th Nutritional Event starting at 7:00pm at ACHIM! Click here for details or call 404-814-9808 to register.  If you register on or before Friday May 3rd, you can bring a friend for FREE!! Woo hoo!!

Hope to see you Wednesday!

Or I guess at Starbucks they call it a Frappuccino.  Anyway, it’s been literally years since I’ve had any coffee, which is a pretty big deal for me considering I had coffee (and lots of it) every day of my life since I was 16 years old (gosh that sounds young) up until 3 years ago.  Anyway, it’s nice that I haven’t needed it, or really missed it, until today. My great friend Alex shared this frappachino recipe with me to make for my hubby. Of course I couldn’t resist something chocolately so I had to try it and well, now I’m typing faster than I’ve typed in years! Next, I want to work on my presentations, or should I ride my bike that is set up on my trainer (since it’s a rainy Sunday), or do I clean or finish cooking? Okay, now I remember why I loved coffee and why so many of you guys drink it! It’s good stuff!

The great thing about this drink is it has calcium, omega-3s, fiber, magnesium, and iron. Now that’s a power drink!

Here is what you need to make your paleo frappachino:

• 3/4 cup coffee, cold
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
• 1 pitted date
• 1 frozen banana
• 6 coconut water ice cubes (or 2 muffin tin ice cubes, see below)

Blend well and enjoy!

I didn’t have an ice cube tray so I just put my coconut water in a muffin tin in the freezer and it worked really well. Just run a touch of hot water under the bottom when you’re ready to get your coconut ice cube out. I’m actually going to start doing that more often the coconut water so it will be ready for other smoothies. It’s also a good idea to always have ripe bananas in the freezer too, if you’re into making smoothies.

Problem is, it wasn’t really meant for me to drink, or my son. Maybe next time I’ll use decaf….

Like the boy needs more energy!