Author Archives: ebchr

Guacamole

3 Replies

This is my basic, go to, never fail- guacamole recipe. Enjoy with tortilla chips, tacos or fresh cut veggies.blog guacamole2

Ingredients

  • 5-6 ripe avocados
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed and divided
  • 2 tomatoes, diced and divided
  • Bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
  • Lemon juice and/or some lime juice
  • Salt to taste

Directions

  • Heat some olive oil in skillet
  • Add onion and sauté until mostly done
  • Add garlic (careful not to let it brown as it turns bitter) and half of the diced tomatoes and sauté for 30-60 seconds more
  • Remove from heat
  • Peel/core avocadoes and mash coarsely with a fork
  • Add the sautéed onion/garlic/tomato to the avocados along with the rest of the fresh chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro, lemon juice, salt
  • Add some additional fresh crushed garlic if desired, salt and more lemon juice to taste
  • Mix to desired consistency, serve fresh or let sit and flavors will meld

Serve with tortilla chips or cut fresh vegetables!blog guacamole 1

Super mom tip: don’t have time to chop onions and tomatoes and cilantro? Get some Pico de Gallo and save a step or three!dit-elle-Esther

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes

3 Replies

Pancakes for breakfast, lunch or dinner! These high protein cakes will fill you up AND leave you energized!

Blog Coconut Flower Pancakes

Makes about 6 pancakes

Ingredients

  • 3 Eggs
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
  • 2-3 Tbsp butter or coconut oil + extra for cooking
  • 1 1/2 tsp honey or agave nectar (I tried each of these in a batch and both were equally good – honey is a little sweeter)
  • 3 Tbsp coconut flour
  • 2 tsps cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • Dash of sea salt
  • 1/4 cup coconut milk and water as needed to adjust batter consistency

Instructions

  1. Whisk together eggs, melted butter, milk, honey or agave, and sea salt
  2. Mix baking powder and coconut flour and add to the wet ingredients while whisking
  3. Heat butter or coconut oil in a skillet on a medium heat
  4. Spoon batter into pan and a note of caution, coconut flour and coconut oil both brown quickly, so watch these careful and cook on low heat, with a lid helps! Carefully flip to cook on each side.
  5. Serve with fresh fruit or berries

dit-elle-Esther

Paleo Pumpkin Bread

5 Replies

Can’t get enough pumpkin recipes this fall? I know! October is pumpkin month around here.

This bread is a special paleo version. And for those new to paleo, this may not taste very sweet or like the classic pumpkin bread you are used to! But it is delicious served hot with butter or with a bowl of soup, such as Chicken Chili! 🙂Blog Paleo Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

  • 1 cup blanched almond flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • dash of sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • ½ cup pumpkin (roasted or canned)
  • 2-3 Tbsps honey or agave syrup
  • 3 large eggs
  • Handful of raisins and/or chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

  • In a food processor combine almond flour, salt, baking soda and spices
  • Add pumpkin, honey or agave and eggs and blend for 2 minutes
  • Scoop batter into a mini loaf pan
  • Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes
  • Cool and serve

Super mom tip: Slice and freeze individual portions for easy retrieval and reheating

Paleo what? What’s up with the whole Paleo thingy? Read more about my journey and some great resources on my food blog, Les Petits Pois!

Inspired (and slightly modified) from one of my favorite gluten free masters Elana’s Pantry

dit-elle-Esther

Chicken Chili

1 Reply

First of all – what’s easier than awesome Chicken Chili? I don’t know.. Little prep, super easy, slow cooker Chicken Chili! This is a fantastic slow-cooker/crock pot recipe! And let me say that I haven’t always been a huge fan of the crock pot (let’s just say we have a love/hate relationship). I’ve had many recipes turn out as just a pot of mushy vegetables (well what do you expect after 8 hours of cooking?). BUT – there’s hope – some recipes lend themselves very well to the crock pot and you can rest assured that I’ll be sure to try them before posting here! I also put them to the toddler/husband test and will give options for adjusting spices, etc. 🙂 blog chicken chili

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 2 c chicken broth
  • 2 green, yellow or red peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 2 tsps ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder or cayenne (careful, as this adds heat!)
  • 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp chopped jalapeno (careful, this also adds heat)
  • If you are not doing the paleo thing, a can of corn and one of cannellini beans are an excellent addition

Garnish/topping

  • Shredded cheese
  • Sliced avocado or guacamole
  • Chopped cilantro

Directions

  • In the slow cooker, combine onion, chicken, chicken broth, tomatoes, peppers, and spice
  • Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours
  • Once cooked shed the chicken with two forks
  • If you are adding corn and beans, do that now
  • Return lid and let the soup heat
  • Sprinkle desired toppings on individual bowls of soup and serve hot

So easy, so yummy!

Super mom tip: the recipe above makes a large batch. Ladle into freezer containers and store for easy re-heating!

Paleo what? What’s up with the whole Paleo thingy? Read more about my journey and some great resources on my food blog, Les Petits Pois!

dit-elle-Esther

Wellness Remedies

1 Reply

It’s the season – coughing and sneezing everywhere! And then suddenly YOU are coughing and sneezing and feeling miserable.

I hate being sick. When I do get sick I’m a grouchy patient. Who isn’t? So I’m super motivated to stay well. Here are some wellness tips for cold season!Blog StayHealthy

  • Fresh garlic, crushed and served in a bowl of hot broth or soup at the first inkling of a cold
  • Honey – it’s antiseptic and sooths sore throats
  • Ground turmeric in some hot milk – love this one – turmeric looks like ginger root in its fresh form, but is smaller and usually is found in powder form as a spice. I learned about it from an Indian friend who gives it to her children regularly to strengthen immunity. In our house we take some every day.
  • Fresh ginger root – freshly minced or in powder form. Peel some fresh ginger root, slice it up and boil it in water and drink as tea. This is also excellent for your digestion.
  • Vitamin C – plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year, some fresh lemon juice in hot water with honey can soothe a sore throat
  • Salt – mix hot water and salt and gargle – this will soothe a raw throat and is also antiseptic. Maybe that’s why salty soups taste good when you have a sore throat.
  • Water, plenty of it!
  • Hot shower and steam bath – helps clear sinuses and feels good for achy limbs and head

As a proactive measure you can use “Four Thieves Oil” – not ingested – but a drop or two on wrist/neck before going on an airplane or if around a sick people may ward off germs. The smell is kind of refreshing (ingredients include wormwood, thyme, rosemary, peppermint, cinnamon, clove, lavender, sage, camphor, juniper, pine..)

Probably the most important healing and wellness remedy is SLEEP.. with or without a furry dog laying on your feet to keep them warm. Socks will also do. 🙂

Super mom tip: if you are nursing there’s not a whole lot of medicine you can take without interfering with either milk supply or passing ingredients to baby, but by all means keep nursing. Your body creates powerful antibodies when you are exposed to germs and passes these on to baby. When you have a cold chances are that baby may avoid it! Yay!

dit-elle-Esther

Carrot Soup with Avocado, Lime and Cilantro

2 Replies

It’s a damp October evening in Seattle. Get your cozy on with this hot soup that is so bright and cheery you will forget about the rain!

Fresh ginger, lime, cilantro, coconut milk and carrots.. create a delicious fusion of flavors! I won’t say this is super easy as there are some steps to prepare this soup, but it’s worth the effort!Blog Carrot Soup-1 Blog Carrot Soup-3

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 lbs carrots
  • 1 lime, divided – grated (for zest) and squeezed for the garnish
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • salt, pepper
  • 1 quart vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 avocado
  • Cilantro
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk or heavy cream

Preparation

  • Melt butter in large pot
  • Chop the onion and the ginger into small pieces and grate the lime zest, and add to pot
  • Sauté the onion, ginger and lime zest in a pan with the butter
  • Add the carrots and some pepper and then sauté for another 2 minutes
  • Add the broth and bring to boil. Simmer for 20 minutes
  • Puree the soup with a hand blender and add the cream

Garnish

  • Cut the avocado into pieces, chop the cilantro add some lime juice, salt and pepper and toss together lightly. Set aside.
  • Serve soup w/2-3 spoons of avocado mixture in each bowlBlog Carrot Soup-2

Paleo tip: use coconut milk, not cream, that’s it!

Super mom tip: Use a 2lb bag of peeled baby carrots – who has time for peeling or scrubbing carrot skins anyway? If you are peeling them, consider that there are good nutrients in carrot skins and just scrub them with a vegetable brush to clean.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates

1 Reply

So simple, so easy, so tasty – hello goat-cheese stuffed dates!StuffedDates

Ingredients

  • Fresh dates
  • Goat cheese
  • Balsamic vinegar

Directions

  • Slit open fresh dates and remove pits
  • Stuff w/goat cheese
  • Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (or until toasty)
  • Top with balsamic vinaigrette

Super mom tip: These can be prepared up to a day in advance, refrigerated, and popped in the oven when you are ready to bake.dit-elle-Esther

Rosemary shortbread

Leave a reply

These are kind of amazing!Shortbread

Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 c brown rice flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 c coconut oil
  • 1 c maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • handful of fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stalks
  • handful of white sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 375*
  • With a stand mixer with paddle attachment combine oil, syrup, salt and vanilla until well mixed
  • With mixer on low speed, add flour a little at a time until well mixed
  • Spread batter evenly into parchment lined 9 x13 baking dish
  • Sprinkle on fresh rosemary and pat down a bit or roll over with rolling-pin. Then sprinkle on sugar.
  • Bake until edges harden slightly, about 15 min. While dough is still hot, cut with a knife into desired size pieces, easily makes ~24 squaresdit-elle-Esther

What to wear to a video shoot

Leave a reply

What to wear to a video shoot? I’m still learning, but here are some tips I’ve gathered on the way.

blog Gap Sweater Gap Skinny On Air-1

Do

  • Do wear solid colors
  • Bright colors are good – they often seem brighter in person than on screen
  • Neutral and muted colors and pastels work very well too
  • Do wear make-up
  • Do wear fun shoes!

Don’t

  • Don’t wear patterns or stripes, it confuses the camera
  • Don’t wear pure black or white as the camera will boost the contrast and white can seem very bright and black can look very dark
  • Don’t wear jewelry that jingles or makes noise when you move as the mic tends to be super sensitive
  • Don’t wear glasses if possible because they can pick up glare from the lights and be distracting on camera. Tthis is a classic “Don’t do as I do, just do as I say!” since I wore glasses during my video shoot below – but I was reading a teleprompter and felt more comfortable in glasses. Bottom line – do what’s best for you!

blog Gap Sweater Gap Skinny On Air-2 blog Gap Sweater Gap Skinny On Air-3 blog Gap Sweater Gap Skinny On Air-4 blog Gap Sweater Gap Skinny On Air-5

Most importantly – wear something you FEEL good in! This will boost your confidence and if you are comfortable or uncomfortable – it will show up in your body language and face.

When in doubt, bring multiple outfits and have the camera operator do a quick on-camera check. Ahem.. there might be a reason my daughter has three outfit changes before leaving the house in the morning..! 😛blog Gap Sweater Gap Skinny On Air-6On me…

  • Jeans- these are my basic skinny jeans from GAP
  • Top – GAP and sorry I can’t find anything quite like it! It’s a light sweater with sequin embellishments at the front. Something like a simple button down would work, see this one from A.Byer on Amazon or something simple like a crew neck from Boden
  • Shoes- Bandolino strappy wedges, similar at Shoes.com

dit-elle-Esther

Velvety squash soup

4 Replies

Ah, squash season is upon us. It’s fall, it’s raining in Seattle, and with a hint of curry and ginger, this squash soup will truly warm your mind, body and soul! This recipe is pretty straight forward, but it does take a while to make given that the squash needs to be cooked first. Squash soup

This soup pairs well with bacon wrapped dates! Dates

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash (~3 lbs)
  • 1 large acorn squash (~2 lbs)
  • 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 apple
  • 2 tsps canola or olive oil
  • 5 c. chicken broth
  • 2 Tbsp molasses
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • pinch of ground red pepper
  • 2/3 cup coconut milk or half-and-half
  • Garnish: fresh thyme

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 425*
  • Cut each squash and the apple in half lengthwise; discard seeds/membranes. Place, cut sides down on a greased baking sheet
  • Toss onion and oil and spread around squash in pan
  • Bake @ 425 for 45 minutes or until squash and onion are tender
  • Cool and scoop out squash pulp from skins, discard skins
  • Place onion, squash and apple in large pot and add broth, molasses and spices
  • Bring to a simmer and then remove from heat
  • Use a hand blender (also called inversion blender) and blend until smooth
  • Return to heat and stir in coconut milk or half-and-half
  • Cook until heated
  • Garnish with thyme and some additional coconut milk

Paleo note: omit molasses and use coconut milk for a delightful and truly paleo soup!

Super mom tip: this is another dish that can be made in a big batch and frozen in smaller portions for easy reheating!

dit-elle-Esther