Tag Archives: vegan

Eggplant Tower

They other day Jay really wanted me to make some good eggplant parm. But he requested it with little cheese, eggplant be thin and crispy but not fried. I decided to make up an easy gluten free and paleo version. It came out great and we ate the whole thing.

Ingredients:
2 Eggplant sliced into rounds (about 1/2 inch thick)
2/3 Cup Salt
1 TBS Italian Seasoning
2 Tsp Pepper
1/2 TBS Garlic Powder
3 Cups Pasta Sauce
1/2 Cups Coconut flour (or parm cheese)

Start by coating each piece of eggplant with salt. Place salted eggplant in a container and allow it to sit for 2-8 hours. When ready, rinse the eggplant under water to remove salt and allow to dry for a few minutes. Place the dry eggplant on a foiled and sprayed baking pan. Sprinkle the garlic powder, pepper and Italian season on the top of eggplant. Bake at 450 degrees. Then, carefully flip each piece and cook another 5 min. Next, remove the tray and add about 1 TBS of sauce to each piece, sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the coconut flour or parm cheese. Place back in oven for 5 more minutes or broil for 3 minutes. When your ready to eat, stack the eggplant into small stacks and cover with extra sauce. Sprinkle with remaining flour or cheese and serve.

 

 

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Rainbow Salad

With the weather getting nice it is fun to play with everything fresh in the market.

Ingredient:
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Orange Bell Pepper
1 Jalapeño
1 Cucumber
1/2 Cup Cilantro
1/2 Lemon
1 TBS Honey
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Start by cutting all the bell peppers and cucumber in to small pieces and add to bowl. Remove seeds from Jalapeño and dice small, add to bowl. Chop cilantro, add to bowl and toss. Add juice of the lemon, honey, salt and paper. Combine and allow the whole dish to chill in fridge for an hour. Serve cold. Enjoy!

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Surprising Strawberry Sauce

I love ice cream. I can eat simple vanilla ice cream all day. To kick it up a notch and make ice cream a bit more special I have come up with a great sauce to top your next bowl with. Using balsamic vinegar with dessert leaves everyone curious what they are tasting. Something about the sweet, sour acidic flavor matches very well with sweet cream desserts.

Ingredients

1/2 Pound Fresh Strawberry Sliced

2 Tbs Sugar

1 oz Red Wine

2 tsp Good Balsamic

Add strawberries to pot along with sugar. Turn the heat on low and stir. Add wine and balsamic. Cook on low continuing to stir. Your looking for the berries to get soft and the liquid to reduce and thicken. Remove from heat and cool. Top ice cream or cheese cake with sauce. Enjoy!

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Carrot Tsimus

Tsimus is a very traditional passover dish. The idea of a sweet side dish to go with the festive spring time meal. This recipe can made a million ways. I wanted to make my version healthy, paleo and easy to do. Using a slow cooker made that possible.

Ingredients

2 Pounds Carrots

1 Onion

10 Prunes

2 Tbs Honey

1/4 Water

Pinch Salt

Start by chopping carrots into big round and place in slow cooker. Slice onion and lightly brown in a pan. Add the browned onion’s to the carrots in the slow cooker. Now, chop the prunes and mix into the content in the slow cooker. Finally add salt, honey and water. Mix and place cover on top. Cook on low for 10 hours. Serve hot as a side dish to any protein.

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Carrot Fries

Who does not love fries! Fun to eat, always good and goes with everything. Well I wanted to come up with a healthy paleo version and I was very happy with the result.

Ingredient:

1 Large Carrot (mine was like 1/2 pound!)

1 Tbs Salt

Cooking Spray

Slice the carrot in half the long ways and then into quarts. Carefully slice each piece again into long fry like strips. Place in a big bowl and spray well will cooking spray or oil. Toss with salt. Lay carrots on a large foiled cookie sheet. Bake at 500 degrees for about 20 – 25 minutes until golden.

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Flavored Sugar

I am always blown away by the unique special touches at cafe’s and restaurants all over the city. I have been working on a special menu for our new cafe and I wanted to do something different. The whole idea of our new place is that you can have everything your way. Build your own pizza, grill cheese or salad. So when it came to coffee I wanted to offer the same. Flavored sure seemed like the best idea. I started playing with ideas and I all came out great.

Recipes:

Lemon Sugar-

4 cups Sugar

2 lemons

Place sugar in a large zip lock bar. Add the zest of 2 lemons. Close the bar tight and shake for a few minutes. Allow the bar to sit open for an hour of two and then store in a tightly sealed bar or container.

Vanilla Sugar-

4 cups Sugar

1 Vanilla Bean

Place sugar in a large zip lock bar. Slice vanilla bean in half and run the back of a knife along the inside to remove seeds. Add the seeds to the sugar along with the remaining peal. Close the bag tight and shake for a few minutes. Allow the bar to sit open for an hour of two and then store in a tightly sealed bar or container.

Ginger Sugar-

4 cups Sugar

4 TBS grated Ginger (about 3/4 of a small root)

Place sugar in a large zip lock bar. Gently squeeze out juice from ginger and discard juice. Add the remaining grated ginger to sugar. Close the bag tight and shake for a few minutes. Allow the bar to sit open for an hour of two and then store in a tightly sealed bar or container.

 

Sugar can be used in drinks, recipes and baked goods.

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Raw Fruit Bar

I am always coming up with new and improved granola bar recipes. Grab-n-go snacks are what keep me going all day. I find my self stoping at WAWA all the time looking for a bag that is low in sugar, high in protein, no junk and gluten free. Now that I have been getting into cross fit I am really understanding the benefits of eating paleo. I came up with a bar that is easy to do, made of all the good stuff and easy to play with.

Ingredients:

15 Prunes

15 Dates

10 Figs

50 Hazel Nuts

1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds

1/3 Cup Coco Powder

In a food processor place the hazel nuts and sunflower seeds. Blend into a nut meal. Place nuts in a large bowl. Now add the prunes, dates and figs to the food processor and blend until it starts to form a ball. Place the fruit in the bowl with the nuts and mix by hand well. Slowly add the coco powder and knead it in to the mix. Place the mix into a square tim pan and push evenly to fill the dish. I used an empty mason jar to help roll it to all edges. Slice and enjoy.

Makes 8 – 205 cal – 3.5g protien

 

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Cilantro Chutney

Chutney makes for an incredible dipping sauce for any meal. Full of flavor that pops. Chutney recipes can be creative. This one is easy to whip up in a crunch.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Fresh Cilantro

1 Clove Garlic

1 inch cube ginger grated

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbs honey

1 small thai chili or half a jalapeño

Juice of 1 lime

2 Tbs Water

Place everything in a small food processor and blend until a paste forms. Feel free to keep out chili if you want to keep it mild.

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Masala Cauliflower

I could eat indian food all the time. It is easily gluten free and paleo which is great. My favorite part about indian food is that its packed with flavor and veggie dishes. Making indian food at home is easy and fun. You can use this recipe on any mix of veggies.

 

Ingredients:

1 Small head of cauliflower

4 Carrots

2 Tbs Gram Masala Spice Blend

Cooking Spray or Oil

Start by cutting cauliflower and carrots into large pieces. Place into large bowl and toss with oil or spray. Add spice blend and toss well. Spread on a large foiled cookie sheet. Roast at 500 degree for 20 minutes.

 

If you can’t find the spice blend try making your own with cumin, coriander, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

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Baba Ghanoush

This is a recipe that has been passed down in my family for a long time. My dad use to tell me story’s of my grandma making it for him as a child in Isreal. I have never been able to get it just right but at least it’s close.

Ingredients:

2 Eggplant

6 Garlic Cloves

2 Tbs Tahini Paste

1 tsp Salt

1 Tbs Oil or Spay

Start by cutting each garlic cloves into about 3 large slices. Then using a pairing knife make a bunch off deep gashes in each. Shove a chuck of garlic in each slit. Spread oil or spray the eggplant all over. Place the eggplant on a grill or under a broiler turning every few minutes until each side is blackened and soft. Once the eggplants are fully cooked and soft peel off the skin. Place the inside of the eggplant in a food processor and mix it up well. Add the tahini and salt and pure. Serve cold or warm.

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