Can you believe it took me this long!? And, it was awesome and so much fun thanks to Wendy B. for sharing her meal this week. Hope you’re having a fabulous vacation!
Of course the first thing the kids grabbed for was the carrots. What veggie is more fun to eat than a “rabbit” carrot?
It was like Christmas morning going through a stocking. So cool! Now, the interesting part, how do we cook all of this??
I think Tate enjoyed this more than I did…
Now on to the prep…
It was really fun playing the whole dinner by ear. I started with the zucchini and summer squash. Since making the creamy zucchini, I’ve learned I really enjoy sauteed zucchini, especially when dried a bit so it can get brown. I grated it and squeezed out the water (you’d be surprised how much is in there). Then I added salt and let it sit while I got the rest of the dinner prepared. Once I did saute it, I just cooked it in ghee and salt until brown. Yum…
Next, on to the carrots. I guess both fortunately, and unfortunately the kids gobbled up most of them for their “appetizer” so there weren’t many left to roast. I didn’t use cinnamon (like in the picture) but rather used parsley and they turned out great. Just cook them on 425 for about 20-25 minutes until brown.
My daughter who was so sure she didn’t like cooked carrots ate most of them!
Next was the kale, chard, choi combo bag. I honestly had no idea what do to with this stuff so when in doubt, I’ll use coconut oil, salt and pepper. I ended up adding a dash of tamari (gluten free soy sauce) and it was great and so flavorful. It also went well with the semi chicken (not) wraps (ground chicken, salt, fresh garlic from the CSA, onions, tamari, and water chestnuts) I ended up throwing together.
So here’s our final dinner. No, I don’t really have any big recipes to share, but I did want to share our CSA experience. It was a lot of fun for everyone, and the food tasted amazing! You just can’t beat this freshness!!!
So many oils, so many temperatures, so many recipes…
There are so many oils and so many beliefs on which should be used, so I just wanted to offer my two cents on what we typically use and why.
Many years ago I used to use canola and olive oil exclusively. Then, I learned about the harmful inflammatory effects of canola and corn oil, and margarine (yuck!), and ran to the cupboard to toss those out immediately. Since then, I have learned about what is good for our bodies, but also, what can tolerate high heats (since I cook everything quick and on high; I’m not one for patience). I think coconut oil is a given here. If you’ve read my post on the benefits of coconut oil, you know why I’m so crazy about it. Plus, it can be used on high heat. Perfect! And, out of all the coconut oils I’ve used, I’ve learned that Spectrum has the least “coconutty” flavor/smell.
I’m always happy to cook with yummy butter again. This was definitely a no-no back in the low-fat, no-fat days (yeah, and that really worked). Anyway, this, along with ghee (clarified butter) are both great with high heat. Ghee, which is lactose and casin free, is a great substitute for butter that I use often. If you’ve used it before you know the heavenly smell this stuff puts out when melted in the pan.
And, the last oil I’ll use for cooking is still extra virgin olive oil. I won’t use it when I’m cooking on high heat but think it’s okay for medium heat, and then of course I used it without heat too on all sorts of things.
I’ll also use some flax or walnut oil since those are the highest in omega-3s. And I’ll use some sesame for Chinese chicken salad or lettuce wraps or other recipes, but this about the extent of my oils repertoire. I know I have only included a handful so here’s a breakout I found that includes a few others:
High Heat/Frying/Browning
Coconut oil
Palm Oil
Ghee (clarified butter)
Lard (love bacon fat)
Medium Heat/Light Sauteing
Olive Oil
Sesame Seed Oil
Hazelnut Nut Oil
Avocado Oil
Low Heat/Baking
Pumpkin Oil
Sunflower Oil
No Heat
Fish Oil
Flax Seed Oil
Hemp Seed Oil
Walnut Oil
Avocado Oil
Oils Mentioned Above
Here are two good posts that summarize the oils as well. The first here is by Diane Sanfilippo and the second one here is by Mark Sisson. I hope this helps some. What is your favorite oil?
Oh, and with summer posts being a little sporadic, please don’t forget to sign up for my email subscriptions here so you’ll be notified when there’s a new post! And don’t forget to hit the email confirmation button so you can be activated. Thanks!
Jen -Really enjoying learning from your blog and want to do this with our family. I have a two year old who has completely quit eating vegetables! I was wondering do your kids drink the almond milk or regular organic milk?
landriav -Hey Jen!
Thanks! Keep trying with your two year old. Their taste buds are changing constantly so what he or she dislikes now, may like in a couple of weeks. Our rule is, you have to at least try it. If you don’t like it, then that is fine, but try it with an open mind, or it doesn’t count. 🙂 You don’t want to force it and make it an issue either, just keep it casual. As for milk, my son LOVES his almond milk. We get the original 60 calorie with 7 grams of sugar. They have unsweetened which I love, and them some others with lots of sugar. I think the one with 7 grams of sugar is great and actually tastes sweeter than cow’s milk, with less sugar, and more calcium! Good luck!ReplyCancel
The other day, I made a couple of changes to the chocolate chip cookies we typically make and according to my husband “these are best cookies you guys have ever made”. And, my son said “mom, we HAVE to make these for Santa!!”. They were that good!
Here are the changes we made…
So my friend Whitney made some chocolate chip cookies last week and they were incredible! She said her trick (accidently) was to melt half of the chocolate chips in the hot butter. Brilliant!
The other change (for my daughter who just doesn’t love honey) was to use less honey, more coconut palm sugar and stevia.
Oh, and I also added some extra cocoa powder because, well, why not?
Here’s what you need:
2 1/2 cups almond flour (I used Honeyville’s)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
15 drops stevia
5 tablespoons grass fed butter, melted
1/4 cup coconut oil (OR 5 extra tablespoons of butter)
1 cup Whole Foods 70 cacao chocolate chips
2 egg whites
3 tbsp cocoa powder
What you need to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside.
3. Melt butter, add half the chocolate chips, and add the rest of the wet ingredients and stir.
4. Add wet to dry and mix until smooth, and then add the other half of the chocolate chips.
5. Now scoop (we used a tablespoon) the dough onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
6. Cook 12-15 minutes until done in the middle. Let cool for a few minutes and hen devour with some ice cold milk!
On a less fun but note, I have been reading some scary stuff about something called Carrageenen. It’s used as a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier in many processed products, include many organics ones. It’s in many dairy processed items so be sure to check your labels!
Someone with an autoimmune disease in the intestinal tract, I find this information especially disturbing. One article said it was used to “induce colitis in lab animals”. What? How is this stuff approved by the FDA?! Colitis is the main reason I changed my diet years ago! The only processed thing left in my life is almond milk, and coconut ice cream once in a blue moon. Turns out, products like So Delicious Coconut Milk and Ice Cream, and Blue Diamond Almond Breeze have carrageenen in it.
Very disappointing!
Why is carrageenan dangerous? Here is what a number of doctors and health researchers have to say.
Dr. Andrew Weil — “Carrageenan can cause ulcerations and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.”
Per Dr. Ray Peat — “It has been found to cause colitis (inflammation of the large intestine/colon) and anaphylaxis in humans.
Dr. Mercola — “A number of studies have found that the widely used food additive carrageenan causes cancer in food animals and its use in human foods should be reconsidered…enough evidence exists about the cancer-causing effects of carrageenan to limit the use of this food additive.
For more information, there is a great post about it here:
But, I don’t think I’m ready to give up my almond milk just yet, if I don’t have to. It’s my one processed treat that I truly love. Good thing for me, Silk’s and Whole Food’s Almond Milks do not have carrageenen in it. Yay! These cookies just wouldn’t be the same without it!!
Shannon -Does cacao taste the same as cocoa in most recipes? Cacao has a lot more health benefits, right?ReplyCancel
landriav -It definitely has more health benefits but I wasn’t sure if it would mix in well since you need hot water to mix and dilute it. Maybe try to stir it in with the melted butter. I bet it would work then! And actually, it might be fine just mixing it the regular way, but I know when I use to try to mix cacao with cold water, it was like mixing oil and water. Let me know how it turns out! Thanks for your comment. Good point!!ReplyCancel
Chris Colwell -I think I have a LOVE/hate relationship with this blog!!! like many I’m sure we want to be informed but sometimes it makes us very sad. I have good news on the Almond Milk from Trader Joes…it’s safe! ran home last night to check my label. whew…FYI for everyone.ReplyCancel
landriav -Ha! I know, I was so bummed to read about it Chris, but at the same time, so so glad I learned about it. Okay, so I was at TJ’s today and looked at their almond milk, since you and another person said it didn’t have carrageenan in it but ALL of the TJ’s ones I saw, had it. I even took a pic to verify that I wasn’t totally crazy. I can email you the pic and maybe you can tell me if it’s the same? Would you take a pic of yours so I can see?ReplyCancel
Rob King -Lan,
What is your definition of “once in a blue moon”? Is that only once per day by chance? =). Like Chris i too was disappointed in that news. I usually eat So Delicious brand ice cream. On a whim i bought Coconut Bliss last night and did not see Carrageenan listed FWIW.ReplyCancel
landriav -Ha!! Nice to hear about the Coconut Bliss Rob!! Thanks for the info!ReplyCancel
Sarah-Yum! These looks great! Your blog is adorable. I just had to come by and check it out since we have the same blog name! 😀ReplyCancel
landriav -Thanks Sarah! What exactly is your url? Would love to check out your blog as well!ReplyCancel
tutti -I’m sure you already know this, but almond milk is SO EASY to make. I have a recipe listed under “notes” on my fb page.ReplyCancel
Michael Parsons -Landria, your name came up yesterday when we were visiting with our friend Alice Williams. I heard you had a blog and I’ve been reading it all day! It is really cool and informative. I’m headed to whole foods now to buy the ingredients for your “southern” meal. We may be calling on you for a consult. Lots of changes needed here.ReplyCancel
landriav -Hey Michael! Thank you so much! I would love to help y’all. Just let me know. Hope you liked your meal!!!ReplyCancel
Rob King -Made these cookies last night. Next time i think 1. Ill make only 1/2 the size (no self control) and 2. Ill just eat the batter. For me at last the batter turned out better than the cookies and it was amazing!ReplyCancel
Heather-Tried these tonight, and just had to blog about them – they were THAT good!
I made a few changes, mostly due to dietary restrictions, but they still turned out great!ReplyCancel
landriav -Very cool! Thanks Heather for the kind shout out!! I really appreciate it!! : )ReplyCancel
Sarah-Thanks for the warning about carrageenen! I had no idea. It’s always something new isn’t it?
The cookies look Amazing! 😀ReplyCancel
landriav -Always!! Sure, thanks for your comment Sarah!ReplyCancel
Rachel R.-Carrageenen is seaweed. I don’t know about the health issues – your post is the first I’ve heard of it – but it’s not some bizarre chemical construct.ReplyCancel
landriav -Yes, but it has some bizarre effects on some people and can make some (esp those with ulcerative colitis like myself) sick. There are many articles out there with scientific results. Thanks for your thoughts and post Rachel!ReplyCancel
So I told you guys I had two new favorite recipes I was excited about a couple of posts back. Creamy Zucchini was one, and this Curry Chicken Salad is the other. I get so excited about new staple recipes! Anyway, I read about this from Multiplydelcious.com, a site that I love, but think she actually got it from NomNomPaleo.com, another great site. Regardless, this Curry Chicken Salad and the flavors together were A-mazing! Alice loved it so much she ate it for breakfast. And Scott was licking the bowl of what little he got (you gotta be quick around here!). I hope you like it!
Here’s what you need:
Curried Apple Chicken Salad
1/2 cup Paleo Mayo (or a good quality mayo like Sir Kessington’s)
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
Fresh ground black pepper
1/2 medium lime or lemon
1 small apple, cored and diced small (loving Pink Crisps lately)
½ cup cilantro leaves, diced
2 scallions, diced
1.5 lbs cooked chicken breast
¼ cup toasted almonds (or cashews)
Here’s what to do:
1. Make the paleo mayo (see here). I saved the other half and used it on a fresh batch of chicken salad today.
2. Cut your grilled (roasted, baked, slow cooked, etc.) chicken into bite sized pieces.
3. Next chop your apples, cilantro, and scallions and lemon (or lime) in half.
Now that we can’t get the Honeycrisp apples we’ve been getting some Pink Crisps and they are delicious. We got a perfect batch of organic ones at TJ’s and they were crunchy, sweet, and tart.
4. Pour into a large bowl and squeeze lemon juice over it all.
5. Add in curry, cinnamon, salt and pepper and mix all together.
6. Then add nuts (roasted or raw) if desired at the end or in individual bowls.
Shannon -Are most of your recipes 4 servings, is this one? Do you think this will keep for a couple days….my husband won’t eat mayo so I’ll be the only one eating it??ReplyCancel
landriav -Hey Shannon. It will keep a few days. Also your hubby might like the mayo since it’s not like the traditional stuff. Just don’t tell him it’s in there…of course unless you want more for yourself! 🙂 It does serve 4 I would think but it does not last long over here so think you’ll be fine.ReplyCancel
Chris Colwell -Another fabulous recipe Lan….I made it last night, but didn’t have enough cilantro so I used half parsley – YUM. My husband said this one is a keeper!ReplyCancel
Amy -I made this for my packed lunch and it was delicious. I added some cranberries and celery for extra flavor. Great idea, thanksReplyCancel
Hannah -Landria,
We tried this tonight and all really enjoyed it. So fresh, crunchy and full of flavor! We also tried the chopped veggies from Trader Joe’s. We sauteed with olive oil and they were great. Olivia also likes it raw over her salad for her school lunch. Thanks for all the great ideas and recipes.
HannahReplyCancel
landriav -Wow, Olivia likes it raw. That is impressive. My kids hated it raw and honestly I didnt love it. But we love it sauteed with some butter. Mmmm, we had it again tonight! So glad y’all liked this salad!! It is one of our staples for sure! Hope you guys are doing well! Thanks for commenting!ReplyCancel
Amanda-This looks so great! Perfect for kiddos, too! I’m sharing this on my blog today with a link back. Thanks so much for sharing!ReplyCancel
landriav -Nice! Thanks so much Amanda!! Cant wait to see the post. 🙂ReplyCancel
Okay, I know I get excited about food but really, there are only so many things I get really excited about. Well, besides the Moroccan Mash, Kale Chips, Cauliflower pizza crust, okay, I guess I could keep going. But really, this is one of my new favorite sides and can’t wait to make it again. I don’t know if it’s the warmth of the sauteed zucchini mixed with the creamy avocado but this was absolutely heavenly.
Here’w what you need:
3-4 zucchini
1 tbsp ghee (or butter)
1 ripe avocado
1/2 lemon juice
10 cherry tomatoes
handful of fresh basil
celtic sea salt (about 1/4 tsp)
Start by peeling the skin off the zucchini. Next grate it like Alice did, or use mandolin to get them thin and noodle like. Then set zucchini aside on paper towels and add salt so it dries out. I actually ended up squeezing the water out of it like I did for the cauliflower pizza crust but the paper towels feel apart, so be sure to use a dish towel.
Next, in a pan on high heat, add 1 tbsp of ghee and saute the zucchini and celtic sea salt. Continue to stir every couple of minutes so it doesn’t burn, but you want it to get brown. It will take longer than you think to get brown (not sure it will get brown if you don’t squeeze the water out) so be patient. It will probably take 15 or minutes. Once done, set aside.
Now, cut your avocado in half, de-pit it and mash until creamy. Next, chop up and add your tomatoes and basil, and then squeeze your lemon juice in the avocado bowl and stir. Lastly, add the warm zucchini to the dish, stir and enjoy immediately.
I promise it tastes better than it looks, waaaay better. Well…looked!
Carrie-Wow, awesome side dish! I use zucchini and avocado so frequently as side dishes on their own, but I have never combined them before….sounds amazing.ReplyCancel
Tabitha-What a great idea! I love that it uses staples I have on hand. I’m going to put this on my “make soon” list.ReplyCancel
landriav -Thanks Tabitha!! I hope you like it!ReplyCancel
Lindsey -Just made this and its great!! Thanks for the tip on cooking the zucchini!ReplyCancel
landriav -I’m so glad Lindsey!! The warmth makes all the difference, I think!ReplyCancel
Rob King -Made this the other day with Scott’s skirt steak. The steak only takes a few minutes to cook and the Zucchini dish was so good i finished it before the steak was ready. HA!ReplyCancel
landriav -Ha, I did the same thing Rob!!ReplyCancel
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