Category Archives: Gluten Free

Paleo Breakfast for Champions

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This is one of my favorite breakfasts – super quick and easy, healthy and tasty!

paleo breakfast eggs and veggies blog (2) paleo breakfast eggs and veggies blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1-2 cloves garlic
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Fresh cut vegetables of your choice

Directions

  • Melt butter in pan, add sliced garlic and let saute for ~ 1 minute on medium heat (don’t let turn brown)
  • Crack eggs into pan and whisk with fork
  • Cook until firm and starting to brown
  • Serve with fresh veggies
  • Voila! Easy!

dit-elle-Esther

Baked Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Onion and…BACON!

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Because really…everything is better with bacon haha.  At least when you have teenage boys and want them to eat vegetables 😉

Blog Baked Brussels Sprouts Cauliflower Broccoli Bacon Paleo Whole30-1

What you need…

  • 1 head of broccoli
  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 strand or bag of Brussels Sprouts
  • One Medium sized onion (really any kind would be good!)
  • 2 pieces of uncooked bacon
  • 1/2 cup of Olive Oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic (or more if you like!)
  • Juice from half a lemon
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to tasteBlog Baked Brussels Sprouts Cauliflower Broccoli Bacon Paleo Whole30-2

What to do…

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Cut both broccoli and cauliflower into bit sized pieces.
  • Cut ends of the Brussels Sprouts and peel off the outter layer.  Then cut in half.
  • Dice onion into 1/2 inch wedges.
  • Scatter all the veggies on a baking sheet.
  • Dice bacon into 1/2 by 1/4 inch slices and scatter over the veggies.
  • Mix Olive Oil, Garlic, and Lemon in a bowl.
  • Pour the mixture over the veggies and toss until they are all coated.  You may need a little extra olive oil to drizzle over.  Salt and pepper to liking.
  • Bake for 25-35 minutes.  I like mine a little more charred, but others don’t, so I do a happy medium 🙂Blog Baked Brussels Sprouts Cauliflower Broccoli Bacon Paleo Whole30-3Thanks to my mom for the inspiration!

ENJOY!dit-elle-Lauren

Turkey and Potato Soup with Canadian Bacon and Sage

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Still have turkey leftovers? This is a fabulous soup to use some of those leftovers. Canadian bacon or pancetta gives the soup a great well rounded flavor and the mashed potatoes and turkey gives it a sense of comfort and warmth. The sage just makes it additionally interesting. A great fall or winter soup!

turkey potato sage soup blog (2) turkey potato sage soup blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 cup celery, chopped
  • 1 large carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
  • 1 or more oz Canadian bacon, chopped
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 3 cups chopped cooked turkey (I cubed it, but think it would be good shaved as well)
  • 2 1/2 cups mashed cooked peeled baking potatoes
  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage and additional fresh sage leaves for garnish
  • fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

  • Heat butter in large pot, add onions and cook for a few minutes
  • Add celery, carrots, bacon and cook for another 5 minutes until onions are translucent
  • Add broth, turkey, potatoes and sage, stirring with whisk until blended
  • Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes
  • Garnish with fresh sage

This soup freezes very well!

dit-elle-Esther

Winter Squash and Apple Soup

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Washington State is the apple capital of the world and are lucky to get an abundance of different varieties, especially in fall! This is a lovely soup using apples and celeriac (celery root) as the main ingredients. It is wonderful served simply with fresh apples and drizzled with olive oil, or make a full meal out of it by serving with some Winter Squash and Apple Galette or Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates! 🙂

wintersquash and apple soup blog (2)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 pounds celeriac, peeled and diced
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
3 apples – peeled, cored and diced and more for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 to 6 cups vegetable stock
Truffle or olive oil, to garnish
Preparation
Heat oil in a heavy stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leeks and cook until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and bay leaf, cooking for 1 additional minute. Add celeriac, potatoes and apples; cook until soft, about 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and deglaze the pot with wine, cooking until almost evaporated. Pour in enough vegetable stock to cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until celeriac and potatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes.

Remove bay leaf and let soup cool slightly. Carefully puree soup until smooth (either with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor). Return soup to the stove to reheat, adding additional stock if too thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. To serve, drizzle with truffle or olive oil and fresh slices of apple.

Thanks PCC Natural Markets!

dit-elle-Esther

Spaghetti Squash with Chicken Sausage, Carrots, and Avocado

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I don’t know why it took me so long to try spaghetti squash, but now that I have…I’m hooked!!

I won’t lie and tell you that it tastes like pasta, or that you will never crave pasta again, but…it’s a great healthy alternative, and a great way to get your kiddos to eat veggies!

I’m pretty lucky that Maya will eat just about everything.  She will even sit down with a bowl of raw veggies as a snack!  The teenage boys are another matter.  I have to figure out ways to hide veggies in things.  The first few times I made this, I added about half a box of veggie pasta, and they devoured it!!  I made this version when it was just me and Maya.  She devoured it, and I think I might actually try it out on the boys!   Or…add some quinoa?  Really, you can add whatever you want or eat as is!

The avocado adds a creamy healthy fat.  I mean…what isn’t better with avocado on top??!Blog Whole 30 Paleo Spaghetti Squash with Carrots and Avocado-1 Blog Whole 30 Paleo Spaghetti Squash with Carrots and Avocado-2What you need…

  • 1 spaghetti squash
  • 4-5 Pre-cooked Chicken Sausages (I used True Story Organic Italian Chicken Sausages)
  • 1/2 a large yellow onion (or one small) diced
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1/4 Teaspoon crushed garlic (not necessary)
  • Large Handful of baby carrots sliced 4 ways lengthwise (use pre-shredded to save time!)
  • 1 Jar of your favorite Pasta Sauce (check labels if you are strict on paleo or whole 30)
  • 1 Large Avocado

What you do…

  • Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
  • Cut the ends off your spaghetti squash, cut lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds.
  • Place it flesh side down in a pan that has about 1/4 of water.  I like to sprinkle sea salt and thyme in the water, because I swear the squash absorbs some of it!  You could use any kind of herb!  Cover with tin foil and bake for 35-40 minutes or until flesh is soft.
  • While the spaghetti squash is cooking, dice up your onions, and add it to a large pan with a little bit of olive oil and crushed garlic.
  • While the onions are cooking cut up your baby carrots, or add the shredded carrots in after the onions have been cooking for about 5 minutes.
  • While the onions and carrots are cooking, dice up your chicken sausage.
  • Add the chicken sausage into the mix and stir until hot.
  • Add the jar of pasta sauce and let it simmer until the spaghetti squash is done.
  • Once spaghetti squash is done, take it out and let it cool for about 5 minutes.  I usually am too impatient and just hold it with an oven mitt haha 🙂
  • Scrape the insides of the squash out into your pan.  You can get almost ALL the flesh out, leaving only a thin skin.
  • Toss it all together, and top with diced avocado!

Blog Whole 30 Paleo Spaghetti Squash with Carrots and Avocado-3It’s been so cold and blustery here in Seattle.  2 bowls of this, and a cozy blanket just sounded like heaven.  And..it was 🙂 Blog Whole 30 Paleo Spaghetti Squash with Carrots and Avocado-4 Blog Whole 30 Paleo Spaghetti Squash with Carrots and Avocado-5Ps- Don’t be afraid to let your children help you.  Maya wanted to help me stir, and at first I thought about all the different ways she could make a mess-PASTA SAUCE!  Then…I put an apron on her and let her.  Her exact words.

“Oh BOY!  This is AWESOME!!!”

Blog Cooking with Toddlers(taken with my phone)  And the hand behind her back??  LOVE!!!

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

Winter Squash and Apple Galette

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This week I’m featuring two recipes using winter squash and apples! Today a Galette (French for a flat round pastry or bread) and on Thursday, check back for Winter Squash and Apple Soup. These dishes are excellent served together as a meal or as separate dishes! I made these for lunch recently when we were having one of the first damp, cold and rainy days here in Seattle. It was a wonderful meal to cheer up the day. 🙂

This is a great recipe for leftover roasted squash since you do need to cook it before putting into the shell here, but it is otherwise quick and easy to assemble!

winter squash and apple pie (2) winter squash and apple pie (1)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound winter squash – peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
  • 1/2 apple – halved, cored and cut into thin wedges
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (or parmesan works great as well)
  • 1 prepared pie crust (I use a gluten free version)
  • 1 egg yolk plus 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)

Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 400° F.
  • Toss squash with oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven until tender, about 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add apples and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; toss with squash and blue cheese.
  • Place pie crust flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Mound squash mixture in the middle of crust, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold border over filling, pleating the edge (the center will be open). Brush edges with egg wash.
  • Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into wedges before serving.

Super Mom Tip: 1) Use leftover baked squash and save a step! 2) Don’t have time to work on the pleating and egg washing the crust? I didn’t either. I just tossed the filling and baked it in the crust and voila! I’m sure it tastes just as good!

Thanks to and inspired by the recipe on PCC Natural Markets!

dit-elle-Esther

Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Dates

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What’s better than Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates and Bacon Wrapped Dates? Throw all those ingredients together and make Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Dates! 🙂 These are so tasty, and a perfect dish for the upcoming holiday season! I like to serve these as an appetizer, or together with a light soup like a squash, mushroom or other mild soup!

bacon wrapped dates with goat cheese (1)

Ingredients

  • 12 dates, pitted
  • 6 strips of bacon, cut in half
  • small block of goat cheese
  • Fresh thyme as garnish (optional)

Directions

  • Stuff dates with goat cheese
  • Wrap one 1/2 slice of bacon around tightly
  • Bake for ~20 minutes at 400 degrees or until bacon is crispy and starting to turn brown

Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Roasted Ratatouille with Black Olives

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This is a great variation to a traditional ratatouille dish. By roasting the vegetables, you get rich flavors and melding of ingredients. The black olives and fresh basil were a nice touch. I served it with polenta and the whole dish was super yummy!

ratatouille blog (3) ratatouille blog (2) ratatouille blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 4 tomatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 each red, yellow and green bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
  • 1/2 onion, thickly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, plus additional for garnishing
  • 1/2 cup pitted black olives

Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 425° F.
  • Place two rimmed baking sheets in the oven for 4 minutes to heat.
  • Meanwhile, toss the tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and onions with olive oil and garlic in a large bowl. Very carefully spread the vegetables on the hot baking sheets. Roast, shaking the pan once or twice to turn vegetables, until tender and golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Toss roasted vegetables with balsamic vinegar, basil and olives. Serve warm with sprigs of fresh basil.

I served this with polenta and grated parmesan cheese!

Thanks PCC Natural Markets!

dit-elle-Esther

Kale Waldorf Salad

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This is a fantastic kale salad! You can make it in a few minutes with the right tools – I use a food processor and run the veggies through the slicer blade. And yes – you eat the kale raw and it is delicious! 🙂

kale waldorf salad blog (2) kale waldorf salad blog (1)

Salad ingredients

  • 1 large bunch curly green kale, rinsed
  • 1-2 apples
  • 2-3 stalks celery
  • 1/2 cup nuts or pumpkin seeds, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup raisins, dried appricots, figs, dates or cranberries, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup red grapes, halved (or whole, to save time!)

Dressing

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • Juice from a small lemon
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • Salt/pepper to taste

Directions

  • Run the kale, apples and celery through the food processor on the slicer blade
  • Toss with nuts or seeds, raisins or grapes
  • Mix the dressing ingredients and toss with salad
  • Keeps very well covered in refrigerator for several days

Excellent with poached or fried eggs – paleo breakfast for champions!

dit-elle-Esther

Mini Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pumpkin Frosting and Caramel Glaze // Paleo

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This base of this cake is the same as the Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts with Maple Pumpkin Glaze that I posted the other week.  In fact.  I did the doughnuts in one pan, and then had a muffin top pan that I used to make these at the same time!  It’s a two-fer recipe-WIN!!

How perfect would this be for a smash the cake session for a 1 year old?!!  Ok, the photographer in me is coming out 😉

For a size reference.  The cake is about 4″ in diameter 🙂Blog Paleo Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pumpkin Frosting and Caramel Glaze-1 Blog Paleo Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pumpkin Frosting and Caramel Glaze-2Blog Paleo Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pumpkin Frosting and Caramel Glaze-3 Blog Paleo Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pumpkin Frosting and Caramel Glaze-4 Blog Paleo Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pumpkin Frosting and Caramel Glaze-5Ingredients

(for Cake-will make 6 doughnuts and 5 muffin tops/cake layers or 10 muffin top layers for multiple mini cakes!)

  • 5 large eggs
  • ½ cup Almond Milk (you could use cocunut milk too)
  • ½ cup Pure Maple Syrup
  • ½ cup Organic Pumpkin Puree
  • ¼ cup Coconut Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 ¼ cup Coconut Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt (I did 20 grinds on my grinder :))
  • ½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce

For the Frosting

  • 1/4 Cup Coconut Cream (refridgerated)
  • 1 Can Full Fat Cocunut Milk (refridgerated)
  • 1 Tablespoons Organic Pumpkin
  • 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Coconut Flour
  • 1/4 Cup Honey

Glaze

What to do

(For the Cake)

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and oil the insides of your muffin top pan really well. I put coconut oil on a paper towel and rubbed it around.
  • Mix all the wet ingredients until eggs are fully blended
  • Add the dry ingredients, then mix until dough is formed
  • Fill muffin top tins to the top (the dough is dense and doesn’t rise very much)
  • Bake for 20 minutes. Let them cool for about 10 minutes, then pop them out and cool on cooling rack.
  • Once cool.  Drizzle with glaze.  Best eaten right after glazing.  Or…skip the glaze and eat as is!

(For the Frosting)

  • Scoop out the hardened part of the full fat coconut milk and place in a bowl.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients.
  • Whip everything with a high speed mixer for about a minute-scraping down the sides a few times as you go.
  • Put into a pastry bag and decorate as you want!  Or slap it on with a spoon and knife and call it good 😉

Drizzle glaze and eat right away.  Or…refrigerate frosted cake, and let sit for about 20 minutes.  Then glaze and eat.  Glaze will harden after about 15 minutes.

NOTE

The frosting isn’t as flavorful as I imagined it would be, and I honestly thought it would be a flop. UNTIL…I drizzled the glaze over everything. The cake base and the glaze are so flavorful, that the frosting being not as flavorful is perfect. The creamy texture of it is a nice balance to the dense cake, and creamy decadent glaze. Blog Paleo Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pumpkin Frosting and Caramel Glaze-6Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren