Unbelievable Banana Bread

Behold the dreaminess that is the unbelievably delicious.  What's so amazing about it? Besides the stunning taste and texture that's better than your momma's (just don't tell her), it's also gluten-free and the only sugar it has comes from whole fruit. Made from cashew flour (and whole wheat if you like) it's super moist without much added oil either. Eat this treat with clean conscience as you get healthy fats and a some yummy fruit.

Ingredients:
-1 egg
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1 apple shredded(or 1/2 cup applesauce)
-4 very ripe bananas mashed
-1 tsp apple cider vinegar
-2 tbsp date syrup/honey
-1 1/2 cups cashew flour(or half cashew and shifted white whole wheat flour)
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1 tablespoon cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
-optional add-ins: walnuts, chocolate, almonds. raisins...

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8*8 pan or 2 small bread pans. In a mixing bowl combine dry ingredients then add wet. Mix thoroughly and pour into baking vessel. Bake for ~30min for small loaves and ~45min for the 8*8, until golden brown on top and until an inserted knife comes out clean. Eat warm or cold:)

Cashew Breakfast Carrot Cake Muffins

Oh my word! These are delicious one of my friends said it reminded her of a cinnamon roll and another immediately demanded for another batch to be made. The texture is so perfect you would never guess it have whole wheat. Plus these have absolutely no added sugar and very little from actual fruit and vegetables in general yet they are surprisingly sweet. They also have lots of fiber, heart healthy fats and vitamins so its an easy something to have for breakfast but feel like you're having dessert. And the icing is no joke, tastes naughty but is so, so, nice. So get to baking and eat those carrots just in time for Easter!

Ingredients for Vanilla Cashew Cream:
-1/2 cup raw cashews (covered with water, soaked overnight or at least 2 hours)
-3 tbsp date syrup/honey
-1/4 cup shredded coconut(optional)
-1 tbsp coconut oil
-1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
-1 dash salt
Directions: Combine ingredients and mix until smooth.

Ingredients for Muffins:
-3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
-3/4 cup cashew flour
-1 tbsp cinnamon
-1/8 tsp ground ginger
-1/8 tsp nutmeg
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tbsp vanilla
-3 tbsp date syrup/ honey
-1 apple shredded
-1-2 cups shredded carrot
-1 egg
-1/4 cup softened grassfed butter
-1/4 cup raisins

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Shred apple and carrots. Mix together dry and wet ingredients separately then combine together. Pour into greased muffin pan and bake for 20min or until done. You can also bake in a greased 8x8 pan for 30 mins. Let cool and top with cashew cream. Eat and Enjoy you little bunny you:)

Sweet and Spicy Coconut Chicken Soup

This is a fun, Asian inspired soup to add a little something different to your day. Everyone I shared it with agreed it was delicious, spicy and sweet. I'll admit the ingredients sound a bit odd, but trust me, they complement each other excellently. To make it a bit easier for you, I labeled what I felt were optional or provided an alternative. This is recipe is also a great way to get more from your farmers market chicken :) So be adventurous, combine the apples and tamari and be amazed!   

Ingredients:

• 2-cubes of chicken stock(or 2 tbsps olive oil)
• 1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 large parsnip(or carrot/sweet potato) chopped into ~1 cm cubes
• 1 bag frozen cauliflower
• 1 green apple, finely chopped 
• 1 can black beans or lentils (or 2 cups cooked)
• 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (mine was frozen) (optional)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 cups water
• 1 tomato chopped (optional)
•  1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp tamari
• 2 tbsps date syrup (or honey/tamarind paste)
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• juice of one lime
• 1/4 tsp black pepper(optional)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric(optional)
• 1/4 tsp coriander/ 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups fresh kale (or frozen just add earlier)
• 1 tsp basil

Directions:  

1. Prepare Ingredients. 
2. Heat chicken stock in the bottom of a medium soup pot for ~1 min
3. Add onions and when they start to turn translucent add the garlic
4. Cook til onions start to brown, then add the parsnip, cauliflower, apple, beans,chicken, coconut milk and water.
5. Bring to a boil for 1 minute then reduce to a simmer for about 15 mins or until vegetables are tender.
6. Add remaining ingredients ( not basil) and cook until kale is wilted. Taste, see if it needs more spice, add to your liking then add basil, eat and enjoy!

Clean Chicken Quinoa Salad with Green Beans and Onions

This is a great recipe to make that tasty organic chicken last you longer than a night. Using your homemade broth to cook the quinoa and green beans adds such a loving, satisfying depth of flavor you'll feel like you're eating homemade stuffing on thanksgiving. The herbs, onions and almonds complement each other in such a delicious way it's simply superb. I actually ended up sharing this with my class on Human Health and Agriculture and all were very appreciative and very thankful, so in a way it was sort of thanksgiving. So let this dish be a last little bit of the holidays as we finally enter into warmer months:)

Ingredients:
-1 cup organic quinoa
-3 cups homemade chicken broth
-1 package trader joe's frozen french green beans
-2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
-2 tbsps chicken fat (or other oil)
-1 sweet onion(finely sliced)
-1 clove garlic(minced)
-1/2 cut slivered almonds
-1 tbsp Italian seasonings(mix of sage, rosemary, thyme, basil..)
-1/2 tsp rosemary
-juice from 1/2 lemon

Directions:

1. use 1 1/2 cups of broth to cook your quinoa (bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15min) and set aside
2. use the other 1 1/2 cups of broth to cook your green beans, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 10 mins or until tender
3. meanwhile, heat the chicken fat from your stock in a pan, add the onion and cook until they begin to turn clear (5min) 
4. add your garlic, cook for 2 minutes
5. add the slivered almonds and cook until slightly toasted and lower heat
6. now add your shredded chicken, quinoa, spices and lemon juice,cook until warm
7. drain the green beans and add to the pan, remove from heat, mix together and serve warm
8. enjoy!

How to get the most from a farmer's market chicken: slow roasted

If you recently bought an organic or farmer's market chicken I bet you paid a pretty penny for it, below is a recipe for chicken, chicken stock and chicken broth so you can get the most from your wonderful purchase! Buying your chicken directly from the farmer who raised it is not only allowing you to support a human being rather than a corporation but it also can improve your health. Buying organic chicken means you are getting a chicken raised free of pesticides, antibiotics, added hormone and various other toxins which promote inflammation and cancer. It also means you're contributing less to antibiotic resistance, polluted waterways and erosion so yay for you and the earth! Talk to your farmer about how the chicken was raised specifically to discover how humanely it was treated and how happy it was during its cute little chicken life so you can feel even better about where your money is going:)

This is a recipe that is moist, flavorful and chicken that really tastes like chicken! Look out for more recipes to make you dollar stretch even further:)

 How to get the bang from your buck: Farmer’s Market Slow Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:

-½ cup +1tsp apple cider vinegar

-6 cloves  of garlic

-2 sprigs fresh rosemary (2 tbsp dry)

-1 handful fresh sage (1tsp dry)

-3 bay leaves

-2 onions

-2 organic lemons

-1 whole 4lbs chicken

Directions for Oven:

1. Make sure your chicken is defrosted, this may take 3 days in the refrigerator, so plan ahead

2. Preheat oven to 275F

3. place chicken on an ungreased baking pan

4. place 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar in a small bowl

5. remove the skins from the garlic* place them into a garlic press and squeeze into the small bowl

6.use your palms to rub the rosemary leaves off the spring and into the bowl

7. finely chop the sage and rub between your palms, so it releases its oils, into the bowl

8. crinkle 2 bay leaves into the bowl and mix together, set aside

9. slice lemons and chop onions into large chunks

10.place onion inside chicken cavity

11. spread the herb mixture under the chicken skin and place lemon slices under the skin as well

12. Dilute the ½ cup of apple cider vinegar with 1 ½ cups of water and pour over chicken

13. cover the chicken with a tent of aluminum foil and place in the oven, bake for 1hr and 30mins, flip the chicken over and bake for another hour cover, then remove tent and bake at 375F for 30mins, remove from the oven when you cut into it with a knife and is no longer pink

*if you smash them with something first, like a spice jar they easily come out of their skins. also, if you don’t have a garlic press you can finely mince the garlic

If you eat the chicken strait off the bone it tastes delicious with some of the cooked lemon juice squeezed on top and the cooked onions on the side.

Directions for slow cooker:

1. Make sure your chicken is defrosted, this may take 3 days in the refrigerator, so plan ahead

2. place chicken in the slow-cooker

3. place 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar in a small bowl

4. remove the skins from the garlic* place them into a garlic press and squeeze into the small bowl

5.use your palms to rub the rosemary leaves off the spring and into the bowl

6. finely chop the sage and rub between your palms, so it releases its oils, into the bowl

7. crinkle 2 bay leaves into the bowl and mix together, set aside

8. slice lemons and chop onions into large chunks

9.place onion inside chicken cavity

10. spread the herb mixture under the chicken skin and place lemon slices under the skin as well

11. turn slow-cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hours, remove from slow-cooker when you cut into it with a knife and is no longer pink

Directions for Chicken Stock (use for broth):

1. strain liquid from pan into bowl

2. cover and refrigerate overnight

3. remove the fat off the top and put the rest into an ice cube tray, cover and freeze

4. anytime you need broth dilute each cube with 1 cup of water

Directions for broth:

1. place bones and skin in a slow-cooker

2. add chopped carrots, onions, celery, and a bay leaf or any other additions you want to flavor the broth

3. fill the slow cooker with water and turn to low, cook for 10 hours

4. strain and store broth, covered, for up to a week in the fridge