Southwestern Turkey Soup

On the eve of returning back to college after thanksgiving break, I decided to make my family one last dish as we're already running low on leftovers. The one leftover that was not depleted was the turkey and a ten pound bag of black bean (thank you Costco!) and in lieu of the cold weather I decided a big pot of stew would be a nice parting gift; and it was! Everyone enjoyed it and I'm half tempted to bring it back with me. So when you're tired of yet another turkey, mashed potato, gravy sandwich try this heart warming soup and you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

·         4 cups cooked black beans

·         2 Vidalia onions

·         7 cloves of minced garlic

·         4 cups of clean tomato sauce

·         Juice of 2 limes

·         2 cups water

·         2 carrots chopped

·         1 jalapeño minced

·         3 chopped sweet potatoes

·         2 ½ cups shredded cooked turkey

·         1 chopped tomato

·         2 cups frozen spinach

·         2 cups roasted frozen corn

·         4 tbps cumin

·         1 tbsp Kirkland no salt seasoning

·         1 tsp black pepper

·         1 tsp paprika

·         1 tsp oregano

·         ½ tsp sage

·         ½ tsp cayenne

·         Cilantro to garnish

Direction:

Add everything together in a large pot in the order listed, bring to a boil for 1 min then reduce to a simmer for an hour until the sweet potatoes are tender. This is very good with a dollop of greek yogurt and cilantro, or even with some shredded grass fed cheddar cheese on top.

Tangy Cranberry Sauce

 

This pretty side dish is a crowd pleaser for all, both those who love and hate cranberry sauce will enjoy this recipe. Its the perfect blend of of sweet and sour and pairs great with turkey, brussel sprouts or even greek yogurt the next day.

Ingredients:

·         ¾ cup of fresh squeezed orange juice with a little zest (you’ll need 3-4 large oranges)

·         1/8^th tsp salt

·         Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

·         1 large granny smith apple peeled and finely chopped

·         1 8oz. package of fresh or frozen cranberries

Directions:

1.       Bring orange juice and spices to a boil in a small sauce pan

2.       Once boiling add apples and continue to boil for 5 minutes

3.       Add cranberries and reduce to simmer until the cranberries have all popped (about 10 min). The longer it cooks, the thicker the sauce gets

Savory Corn Bread Pudding

The inspiration for this delicious dish came to me in the middle of the night and literally kept me up for two hours just because I was so excited about it. And my lack of sleep was not in vain, in fact the first words out of my sisters mouth were, "you're making this for Christmas!" The only thing that could possibly make it better would be some fresh chopped jalapenos, so feel free to experiment.

FYI: the reason for it's name is because its a softer, more moist (sorry about the word but it is) cornbread, but not quite a corn pudding either, just a fabulous mix of the two.

Savory Cornbread Pudding

• 1 package of polenta (I used an organic sun-dried tomato version)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 very ripe bananas mashed
• ¾ cup frozen fire-roasted corn
• ½ cup shredded grass fed cheddar cheese
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tbsp rosemary
• ½ tbsp thyme
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• Spray oil or butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a greased cast iron pan in the oven while it’s preheating

Mash the bananas and polenta together then add the rest of the dry ingredients (except for the corn and cheese)

Add the wet ingredients: olive oil, buttermilk, eggs. Whisk it together until it all comes together. Then fold in the corn and cheese

Pour mixture into preheated cast iron pan. Bake at 400 for about 40 minutes. It’s done if it springs back when you press on it, or when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.

Fig Newtons

These little bites of heaven are amazing! They're soft, sweet and have a bit of crunch from the walnuts. I must say they're a specialty of mine and there's a little story behind them.

About eleven years ago, my family moved into the house that just happened to have a fabulous fig tree in the backyard. Soon after, my mom made her very first batch of fig jam by cooking down the figs with a little water, salt and lemon juice and man was it good. Several harvests later, the baker in me decided why not put this deliciousness inside a shortbread cookie dough? The results were spectacular! My homemade fig newtons were well received by my family, friends, and neighbors. Then a year ago, I'll admit that I was a bit afraid I wouldn't be able to make a clean version of them and it just wouldn't be the good. But low and behold, some cinnamon, nutmeg and kerrygold butter later the verdict is the same, a million times better than the store bought version and delicious as always! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have :)

Filling

·         About ½ cup fig jam (cooked down figs with orange zest)

·         ¼ cup raisins

·         Cinnamon and nutmeg to sprinkle on top

·         Optional (but highly recommended) topping: add  chopped walnuts

Cookie part

·         ¼ cup grass fed butter

·         1 ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour

·         1/8 tsp salt

·         ½ cup of date syrup (1:1 of dates:water and a little lemon juices blended together or honey/maple syrup)

·         ½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350^oF. Mix all the cookie ingredients together with your hands until similar to a shortbread cookie dough (you may have to add more flour). Roll dough onto cookie sheet into a long rectangle until about ¼ inch thick. Spread fig jam down 1/3^rd of the dough. Add raisins on top (may be less than ¼ cup) and sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg and walnuts on top. Fold the sides of the dough together to meet in the middle. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, broil for the last 2 minutes or so. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Balsamic Chicken

For all who are tired of your chicken try this recipe. It's simple, easy and oh so good. Rosemary, thyme and balsamic vinegar are just made for each other and on the chicken, mmmm...multo buona!

Delicious Balsamic Chicken:

·         Grass fed butter to grease casserole dish

·         ½ onion sliced

·         2 chicken breasts (I used 4 frozen tenderloins)

·         3 cloves garlic, smashed and sliced

·         Pinch of salt

·         1 zucchini sliced thin

·         1 tomato sliced

·         1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

·         ½ tsp thyme

·         ½ tsp rosemary

·         3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 350^oF

2.      Grease casserole dish

3.      Layer onions slices on bottom

4.      Add remaining ingredients in order listed

5.      Cover dish with lid, place in oven, bake for about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through

Worthy

    I believe that recognizing the fact that I am worthy is what inspired me to be healthy and stay healthy. After all, who wants to work out or cook or do anything if you’re believe that you’re nothing.  Now I realize this can be a hard concept to grasp but it’s true, you ARE worth it. The God of the universe had the psalmist write,  “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful” (Psalm 139:14). That’s right, you are WONDERFULLY made, that means you as an individual were actually designed by God and you have a purpose. So don’t go comparing yourself to anyone else because being made by God should be enough to give you some hope.  And remember honey, God don’t make no junk!

     I also believe that my friends, family and my great God deserve the very best version of myself that I can give them. This means being physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually healthy. So even if you don’t want to do the work for yourself, do it for them. Do it so you get to give a least one more year to your spouse, kid, best friend, dog, cat, cuttlefish, whatever. Because you impact their lives, you make a difference, you brighten someone’s day whether you realize it or not.  And work toward realizing your self-worth and that God made you for a purpose and that it’s probably going to be a lot harder to accomplish that purpose if you’re sick in any area of your life.

So I hope this brightens someone’s day and I’ll leave you with one more God quote…

Jeremiah 29:11

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Healthy Cheese Crackers

Cheese...healthy...what?! It can't be! Ahh, but it is :) The secret is grass fed butter and cheese. Dairy products and meat that come from grass fed cows are actually full of a wonderful thing called CLAs. You may know these babies as omega-3s, you know the healthy fats that are have been proven to help fight obesity, heart disease, stupidity, yadayadayada. I know what you're thinking... "cow's aren't salmon or olives silly crazy blogger lady." But once again, you're wrong, you see a major source of CLA is actually leafy greens, like grass. So if that's what a cow's eating, not only is it happier and healthier it also passes all those wonderful benefits to you. Let's get to it then, make these crackers and fight dem diabetes!

Ingredients:

·         3.5 tbsp salted grass-fed butter(Kerrygold brand)

·         ¾ cup shredded grass-fed sharp cheddar cheese (Trader Joe’s has some from new Zealand that’s cheap, you just have to shred it yourself)

·         1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour

·         4 tbsp ice water

·         Salt for sprinkling

·         ½ tbsp garlic powder

·         1 tsp rosemary

Directions:

1.       Mix (in food processor/with fork) cheese, butter, rosemary and garlic powder together

2.       Add flour ½ cup at a time until little balls start to form

3.       Add water a tbsp at a time until the dough is similar to pie dough forms, shape into a disk, cover in plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes

4.       Preheat oven to 375

5.       Roll out dough to 1/8^th inch thickness on a floured surface

6.       Cut into 1 inch squares with a pizza cutter ( feel free to crimp edges with a fork) or use a cute mini cookie cutter.

7.       Transfer to a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt

8.       Place in oven on middle rack for 10 minutes and transfer to top rack for last 2 minutes until golden brown

9.       Remove from oven, let cool, eat and enjoy! *they are super delicious with homemade fig jam*

-evidence to support above statements:

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/61-health-benefits-omega-3-fatty-acids

Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model To Study the Effectiveness and Metabolic Targets of Dietary Supplements Used for Obesity Treatment: The Specific Case of a Conjugated Linoleic Acid Mixture (Tonalin)

 

Mint Chocolate Truffels (vegan, raw and sugarfree!)

With it growing colder, my desire for mint and chocolate has significantly increased... and since mint leaves in green tea and bakers chocolate could only last me so long, I decided to make these delicious babies! I came up with these by looking up some other 'clean chocolate' recipes and giving peppermint extract a whirl...

Mint Chocolate

Ingredients

·         ½ cup cocoa powder

·          ¼ cup melted coconut oil (warm gently on the stove to melt)

·         ¼ cup date syrup (blended 1:1 ratio of dates to water and a splash of lemon juice)

·         1 tsp pure peppermint extract

·         Pinch of sea salt

Directions:

-combine everything in a bowl and mix together, spread out to 1/8^th in thickness on aluminum foil and freeze for at least 30 minutes, break into pieces and enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

These just hit the spot and are an awesome present for friends and family just in time for the holidays!